Persona 3: The Broken Tower
by tarious123
Summary: Tsukiyo Amagi is just a regular third year high school student of the prestigious Gekkoukan High School. He goes to school like any other students, study like any other students. He was hoping for a peaceful final year with hopes of getting into a good university. Unfortunately, the Dark Hour has to intervene. Thou art I and I am Thou, I have come from the sea of Thy soul!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! It's another fanfiction story yet again from me! Sorry if I have been inactive for a while and that my other fics aren't updating. It's just that I have no idea how to write on them. But don't worry, I haven't abandoned them. I've just taken a breather from them by writing new ones! My RWBY fic: RWBY: The Blessed RAEM, too won't be updated anytime soon with the same problem.**

 **Also, I was blown away from the two games that I've heard about but never when into detail myself. Persona 3 and 4 are amazing in their own right. Sure, I'm a bit late into the fandom considering Persona 5 is coming out soon later this year, but the fanfic writer in me is dying to rewrite their story a little.**

 **So here it is, my Persona 3 fanfic.**

 **Enjoy~!**

…

 **Chapter 1 The Enigmatic Senior**

 _Within the darkest abyss, there is always a single bright light._

Within a room in the male dorm, a single figure slept silently wrapped snuggly in a white blanket. The alarm clock by the side of the bed on top of the dresser slowly ticked away, before it reached six o-clock, ringing loudly waking the figure inside the blanket cocoon. He groaned as he reaches out from under the blanket, slamming the top of the clock to stop.

He comes out of the blanket cocoon, his tired eyes looking over at the clock reading the time. "…Better get up…"

Entering the bathroom, the shower head turned on with droplets of water pouring down on him. He groaned slightly as his sleepiness is washed away from his eyes. Turning it off, he exited the shower with his tower drying his damp black hair. He looked down at the sink, picking up his toothbrush and toothpaste and starts his morning routine of cleaning his teeth.

After a while, he got out of his bathroom and changed into his uniform, the standard Gekkoukan High School uniform minus the bow tie and his blazer is left opened, along with red converse. He looked to the mirror, checking his rather messy black hair that he won't bother to comb that slightly overshadowed his black onyx eyes. "There, done…"

He proceed to pick up his school bag and walked out of the door.

…

On the monorail heading towards Tatsumi Port Island, the teen stood there looking over at the sea, the blue water shimmering by the early morning sun. His lazy eyes looked over to the other side, seeing the several Gekkoukan High students either talking to each other or taping on their phone. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone, a black flip-phone that he flipped opened and checked his messages.

He then took notice of the two high school girls standing opposite of him, one of them with brown hair that reaches just past her ear with equally brown eyes with a white choker and a pink sweater over her uniform instead of the standard black blazer talking to the other girl, she have dark brown hair tied in a ponytail with red eyes, wearing the standard uniform but with a pair of red headphones hanging around her shoulder.

The brown haired girl seems to be talking to her about the school and the man-made island it is based on, not that he care about it. He now is checking the net for the latest articles, finding the usual articles about the Apathy Syndrome disease that has been on an outbreak over the past two years. He ignored them and tries to find any good articles, not getting much besides the several about food or the Kirijo Group.

He looked over at the window yet again, the school now in view to him that come over closer. He sighed a little as he placed his phone back into his pocket. As the monorail stopped, the doors slides open as the students flood out into the streets and towards the school gates. He was one of the students and he followed them through the main entrance. He looked over to the bulletin board, trying to find his name on the board.

He read the names until he can find his class, 3-D, with his name there: Tsukiyo Amagi. He read the list, finding the names of a Mitsuru Kirijo on it as well. "Another year with her, huh…?" He muttered walking off, only to find the girl he saw on the monorail looking over at the list from over the crowd of students with a troubled look on her face.

"Need help?" He asked her, the girl turned to face him revealing the hairclips in her chocolate brown hair that formed XXII.

"No, I'm good!" She tells him with a smile before looking over at the list of names yet again.

"…What's your name?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's Minako Arisato."

He looked over to the bulletin board and found her name, "You're in Class 2-F." He tells her.

"Oh, thanks, um…"

"Tsukiyo Amagi." He introduces himself, "I'm a third year."

"Oh, then thank you, Tsukiyo-senpai!" She said happily, before walking off into the corridor towards the Faculty Office. He sighed a little before walking away to his favorite spot by the persimmon tree. He sat down by the roots before reaching into his bag and taking out a small novel and starts reading.

…

He manages to reach the school assembly on time and slept through the principal's speech, before heading to his class. He sighs slightly as the school day ends and stood up from his seat in the classroom, the re-introduction to his new classmates can be a little tiring. As he was leaving, he bump into someone he did not expect to see, a teen of his age and height with white hair and dark grey eyes in the same uniform with the blazer changed out for a red vest and black gloves.

"Oh, Akihiko." He greeted.

"Hey, Tsukiyo." The teen greeted back, "How's your first day?"

"Boring, as usual." He sighed.

"Surprised that you are in the same class as Mitsuru again." Akihiko stated, "Are you two destined partners or something?"

"Coincidence. That's all it is." Tsukiyo sighed, "Speaking of her, she seems to be troubled by something."

"Probably something to do with the new member at the dorm." Akihiko stated, "It was a last minute call and the chairman is planning to check with the female dorms to see if there is a room available for her."

"That co-ed dorm you and Mitsuru are staying?" He stated, "Why not just let her stay? It's not like you are ever lack of rooms considering how many people are staying there. There are plenty rooms for her to stay in."

"That's true, but…"

"That's a good idea." They were then interrupted by a girl, a stunningly beautiful red haired girl with red eyes and in the standard uniform but the top is a stripped blouse. "It would be troublesome to move around when it hasn't been one semester yet."

"Is that a good idea, Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked, "I mean…"

"…" Mitsuru glanced at Tsukiyo for a moment, "Amagi, mind if I speak to Akihiko in private?"

"…Sure." He stated before walking off into the corridor. He looked over behind, both of students walking away chatting away about something. He sighed a little, 'What has they been hiding…?' He wonders, 'They has been like this since we first met. And they refused to tell me about anything…'

Walking out of the entrance, he came across the same girl he helped at the bulletin board, this time with a teen boy wearing a blue baseball cap and a goatee wearing a blue button shirt under his blazer. "Oh, you're!" She cried.

"Huh? You know him?" The boy asked.

"You're that girl. Minako Arisato, right?" He greeted.

"Yup! Nice to see you again, Tsukiyo-senpai!" She said cheerfully.

"Wait, Tsukiyo?" The boy thought for a moment, before realizing, "Oh! The Gekkoukan Samurai!"

"That title still around…?" He sighed tiredly, "And? Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Junpei Iori!" He chuckled, "Oh man, I've never thought that I'll meet the Gekkoukan Samurai in the first day of the semester!"

"Gekkoukan Samurai?" Minako asked.

"Oh, right. You just transferred so you wouldn't know." Junpei stated, "This man, was a kendo legend of Gekkoukan High! He was never defeated once at all, not by anyone! He even won major tournaments across the country! He is a true-blood samurai of modern Japan!"

"It doesn't mean I became a legend…" Tsukiyo sighed, "I was a member of the Kendo Club and just participated in the tournaments they arranged. Winning them is just a bonus."

"Oh, you're just modest, senpai!" He chuckled.

"That sounds amazing!" Minako stated.

"Like I said, it wasn't much." The senior sighed, "So, you're a transfer student huh? Must be tough, transferring to a new school. I would know, I was a transfer student myself two years ago."

"You too, Tsukiyo-san?" Junpei asked surprised, "Wow, a first year transfer student that took the Kendo Club by storm… Man that sounds like something out of a comic book!"

"It does, does it?" Tsukiyo sighed, "I surprised myself when I made it that far."

"Hey, Minako." Junpei whispered, "You think your time here will be like his?"

"Time would tell." She tells him.

"I've got to go." Tsukiyo stated, "It was nice talking to you." He proceeds to walk out of the school gate.

"He is as cool as the rumors put him to be." Junpei stated, "Man, I sure wish I was as bit cool as him."

"You will be." Minako assures him.

…

Tsukiyo walked into the strip mall, with the very intention of finding a place to eat for his dinner, after buying some books and stationary. He was considering the Wuck Duck Burger but choose against it, "Their mystery burger still scares me…" He muttered to himself, choosing Hagakure and their ramen. When he entered the restaurant, he was surprised to see Akihiko eating there as well.

"Oh, Tsukiyo. What's up?" He greeted.

"You finished your talk with Mitsuru?" He asked as he sat down, "The special, please." He ordered from the chef, "So, what's the talk about?"

"Just about the new tenant of our dorm." Akihiko explained.

"You mean that last minute one, right?" Tsukiyo asked, "So? Is she staying?"

"For the time being." He tells him.

"I see." The bowl noodles placed in front of the black-haired teen, he took the chopsticks, "Thanks for the food." And he starts slurping away at the noodles, "Say, have you seen the new transfer student?"

"No, I haven't." He stated, "Transfer student, huh…? Reminds me of that time that you transferred in."

"Yeah, a country bumpkin transferring into a private school of all places, right?" Tsukiyo stated.

"Not to mention that glare of yours when you came." His friend said, "Not to mention your complexion. You're the ideal version of a Japanese samurai."

"I wasn't glaring at anyone…" He sighed, "I've lost my contacts and I didn't bring my glasses with me then. It was hard to see so I have to squint."

"It has been two years since then." Akihiko stated, "Back then, you were quite a delinquent."

"Mostly because they all try and make fun of me for being from the countryside." Tsukiyo stated, "But then, I've wouldn't caught yours and Mitsuru's attention. I can still recall how surprised I was when the heiress of the Kirijo Group just walked up and ask if I was alright after a fight."

"That's just how Mitsuru is." Akihiko stated. Tsukiyo carry on eating his ramen as his friend looked down at his own, "Hey, Tsukiyo."

"Yeah?"

"Do you experience any weird thing at night?"

"Hm?" Tsukiyo stopped slurping and looked at Akihiko, "…No, nothing really. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." The teen carries on slurping his noodles as his friend stare at him with a suspicious glare.

"…You know…" Akihiko stopped slurping turning to face his friend, "If you have any troubles, I'll be happy to help."

"…Yeah, I appreciate that." The two of them carry on with their meal in the silence, the black haired teen glanced over at his friend sighing slightly.

…

The teen returned back to his room, the night getting late. He placed his bag onto his bed and proceeds to change out of his clothes into his sleepwear. Turning on his radio, he took a pair of grey rimmed glasses and put them on as he opened up a book. Sitting down on his bed, he proceeds to read.

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

He closed his eyes for a moment as he closed his book, opened them to view the green tinted atmosphere of his room. His lights turned off and his radio silent. 'Again, huh…' He looked out the window, the moon tinted in the eerie glow and blood pools all over the streets below with black coffins all over.

He recalled the first time this happened. It was over a year ago, the beginning of summer break. He received a call from a detective in his hometown, telling him that the case was dropped due to lack of evidence and proof, letting the culprit get scot-free. He remember his anger over the call, how he shouted at the caller for hours on end, begging him to check again and re-opened the case.

He recall being apologized to by the detective, to hanging up his phone before throwing it on his bed in frustration. As the clock strike twelve midnight, the atmosphere changed. The sky turned green and his room turned dark. His first reaction was of shock and fear, unknown of what to think of this.

When he starts hearing voices, he freaked out even more. Usually, he has an affinity with horror and scary stuff, but this is beyond what he is used to. As tempting as the voices' words were, he did his best to block out the voice. When the world suddenly changes back to normal, he went back to sleep exhausted.

From that day forth, he start getting the same event over and over every night. Using an hourglass, he managed to calculate how long this event occurred, which he estimated at about one hour. He began to take notes on what is happening outside, in hopes of figuring out what causes this.

Coming out of memory's lane, he went to his table and took out a red notebook. In it are dates with reports of that certain day. "Let's see… today's isn't exactly a full moon… there aren't any voices this time either…" He wrote those down, "Let's see, people are still in coffins… no black goo monsters tonight…"

He sighed as he closed his book, 'Nothing happened today… maybe's it's because it isn't a full moon tonight…?'

He yawned slightly, before choosing to go back to sleep.

…

The next day, Tsukiyo was walking in the school when he overhear the gossips between two students. Something about a classmate with Apathy Symptom, on how soulless that girl is behaving, 'Another one… This Apathy Syndrome is definitely spreading…' He thought as he looked through the articles on his phone.

"Tsukiyo-senpai!" He was stopped when he heard the familiar voice of the transfer student running towards him.

"Oh, Arisato." He greeted the girl.

"What a coincidence that we run into each other again!" She said with a smile.

"Indeed."

"So, how are you doing today?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Tsukiyo stated, "And you? Adapting well?"

"Yeah." She stated smiling.

"That's good to know." He stated, "Transferring can be tough, I know. I've told you before right? That I've transferred here in my first year. I believe it was around June…"

They carried on with small talk before they separated to their respective classes.

…

The day went on without much fail, Tsukiyo got called up to answer a few questions or to read out a passage from the textbook. The bell soon rang to signal the end of the school day, the students scattering into their little groupies as they left.

Tsukiyo left the class too, walking along the corridor before bumping into someone. That caused her to drop her books and worksheets, the papers all spread around on the floor. "Oh, sorry." He kneeled down to help her pick them up. When he was ready to pass it to her, he was stunned. The girl has short teal-blue hair and dark brownish-gray eyes, wearing a blue turtleneck under her school uniform.

"T-Thank you." She stuttered with a small smile, accepting the papers from him before slightly jogging away.

He looked back at her retreating figure, his mind was on how gentle-looking and beautiful looking she is and how her eyes seems rather sad, and scared even. He even found himself getting absorbed into her eyes.

Getting that out of his mind, he left the school.

…

Finishing his part-time job at the Chagall Café, he went on his way back to his dorm. When wandering around in the night, he came across the white dog at the Naganaki Shrine. He sat down by the bench at the playground, patting the dog a little before the canine walked back into the shrine.

He looked up at the moon, the celestial body almost a full circle.

Standing back up, he carries on walking back to his dorm, bumping into the The Lost along the way. When he opened his door, the clock strike twelve and everything turns eerie green. Not used to seeing the world outside in this color, he quickly stepped inside into his room and closed the door shut.

"[ _ ]"

'Ah shit!' The voices bombarded his mind. He could barely figure out what they are saying, only certain phrases are clear for him to understand. He changes into his sleepwear quickly while trying to ignore them and jumped into bed falling trying to get to sleep. Soon, the world returns back to normal and the voices stopped as his mind drifts off into the sea of unconsciousness.

…

The next morning, he walked to school looking at his phone yet again. He caught on to Minako talking to Junpei, the boy talking about how refreshed it is to sleep during class compared to sleeping at home, which he mentally agreed, 'But you have to remember to study earnestly after school.'

The entirety of the school day was quite fast, in Tsukiyo's eyes it was a blur. The teachers come, teaches them the lesson, ask some students to answer some questions or the surprise quiz from some of the teachers, it passes by quickly for him.

Soon, it was after school and he heads to the Paulownia Mall, mostly to check out the music albums and to see if there are any part-time work he could take for the next month. He heard of a new single that was pretty popular and tries it out. When he left, he bump into two people he did not expect to see.

"Oh, Minako." He greeted.

"Hi there, Tsukiyo-senpai!" She greeted, "You hang out here too?"

"Just here to buy some CDs." He stated, before turning to the girl next to Minako, "And you're… aren't you one of the students staying at that co-ed dorm?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Yukari Takeba." She greeted.

"Tsukiyo Amagi." He greeted, "So, showing her the sights?" The brown haired girl nodded, "Well, if you're looking for a place to hang out, this is definitely the place. There's plenty to do here."

"Why don't you join us?" Yukari asked.

"Huh? You sure?" He asked, "I mean, I don't want to be of bother."

"It's cool!" Minako said cheerfully, "More the merrier!"

"Huh… I see…" Tsukiyo sighed slightly, "Very well then…"

The three of them ended up spending the day in the mall, the senior mostly being dragged from shop to shop by the two girls. After a while, they ended up in the café to rest and have a drink. Tsukiyo at this point is exhausted, slipping his latte as he looked at the scene of Yukari talking to Minako. 'She sure is adapting well…'

"Hey, Amagi-senpai." Yukari asked, "How do you know Minako?"

"I helped her out at the bulletin board the first day of school." He explained, "Other than that, most of the time we meet is by chance. Then again, there isn't many place for students like us to go here."

"That's true." She stated, "…Hey… how do you know I stayed in that co-ed dorm? Are you… stalking me?"

"How on earth did you came to that conclusion…?" Tsukiyo sighed, "I'm acquaintances with Mitsuru. She told me about the students that stay in that dorm. Akihiko Sanada is one of my friends too."

"Oh, that explains it." Yukari stated.

"So Minako is the last-minute student, huh?" He stated, getting quite a surprise look from the two girls, "Don't look so surprised… Akihiko told me about you, but never told me the name. And you being the latest transfer student, the answer was obvious."

"Wow, you're smart." Minako said in awe.

"I personally prefer deductive." He said, "But thanks for the compliment."

"Well, we better get going." Yukari stated as she stood up, "It's getting late, and Mitsuru-senpai is pretty strict on curfew. It was nice hanging out with a senior like you."

"Akihiko can be a pain, right?" Tsukiyo stated, "He may be a muscle head, but he is genuine nice guy once you get to know him."

"I could say the same about you." Yukari stated, "When I saw you, I was sure you're those loner types. But you're actually pretty nice guy. Ah! Sorry if I've offended you!"

"It's fine. Most people think like that as I tend to be quiet most of the time." He stated.

They said their goodbyes and went on their way.

…

Back in his dorm room, Tsukiyo changed into his sleepwear and is reading his book with his glasses on. His radio on full-blast as he listened to the latest album.

 _I will-_

 _BURN MY DREAD_

 _I once ran away from the god of fear  
and he chain me to despair._

 _BURN MY DREAD_

The radio boomed on echoing in his room.

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

The radio turned off and he looked up from his book. The air changed yet again as he closed his book and walked towards the window. Taking a peek outside, he looked at the green illuminated streets with the coffins all laying around. 'Nothing changed today either…'

He looked up, noticing the large full moon in the green night sky. 'A full moon…'

"[ _ ]!"

"Guh!"

The loud voices bombarded his mind, it is deafening. He can feel his mind slowly being pushed down and ripped apart at the same time. 'W-What is this? This is nothing like the previous times…!' He collapsed on his bed holding his head in pain.

At that one moment, a sharp scream echoes in his head, causing him to scream out in pain, screaming till his throat is sore before the voices stopped. 'W-What was…?' He dropped onto his bed, unconscious.

…

 _To Be Continued_

 **There! Done!**

 **Man, I have to check up on the game again to write this. But still, awesome game, even if I didn't play it myself. And yes, this will be based on P3P. I liked Minako, or Hamkuo, more than Minato. That dude reminded me of myself way too much.**

 **And no, I'm not depressed or anything. It's just the way he was portrayed in the movies, it feels like I'm on the screen. I'm the type of guy who goes with the flow, most of the time. I've never really bump heads with anyone in school or at work, nor do I really hang out with people often.** **Anyway, the protagonist used will be Minako.**

 **Another** **thing, I've watched Persona 4 before Persona 3, so I'm** **rather based my character around Persona 4 cast instead** **of making one to fit in Persona 3. Besides, the two casts** **often meet people from either games anyway.**

 **Case and point, Chihiro in Persona 4 and that one trip to Inaba for the female route of P3P where a young Yukiko Amagi is shown.**

 **With that, I thank you for reading and please Review!  
Arigatou!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 Tower Arcana**

The sun shone into his room, Tsukiyo slowly opened his eyes. 'Ugh… my head…' He looked over to the clock, the blurry round object on his table. He scrambled around his bed for his glasses, before checking again.

7.00am

He sighed in relief, 'At least I'm not late…' He got off his bed and changed into his school uniform. Checking his table, he couldn't find his contacts, 'Huh?' He looked all over his room, but to no avail, 'What the heck?' He sighed a little before putting on his glasses.

"First time for everything, I guess…"

…

'This may be the last time I'm doing this…' He mentally grumbled. It turns out, just by wearing his glasses to school, he attracted quite a lot of attention. Especially from all the female students. He can't remember how many times he saw the group of girls, both second years and third years, followed him all around the school. 'Now I know how Akihiko felt…'

He sighed a little as he take off his glasses to clean the lens. It is now lunch break and he is at his favorite spot, the persimmon tree, eating his lunch which consists of a melon bread. His mind wondered back to last night, "Man I don't want to remember…" He muttered, 'But what was that last night? It was loud and sharp… Like something dangerous is released…'

He sighed a little and munched on his melon bread yet again. He opened his phone to check the articles, "Nothing new…"

Finishing his bread, he left his favorite spot to head for his next class. He walked along the hallways, before bumping into Akihiko. One of his arms is a sling much to Tsukiyo's surprise. "Huh? What's with your arm?" He asked.

"Oh this?" He asked, "This is just a bruise."

"Bruise…?" Tsukiyo sighed, "I know a broken arm when I saw one, Akihiko. What is it this time, got into fight?"

"I guess you can say that." Akihiko said, "Now I have to keep off training for a few weeks… What a bummer…"

"Hey… is Minako alright?" Tsukiyo asked, "I didn't see her in school today. You stayed in the same dorm with her right?"

"She's… in the hospital…" He stated.

"What?-!"

"I-It was… a-a… an accident!" He stated, "S-She… fell down some stairs! Yeah! That's right!"

"Fell down… some stairs…?"

"A-Anyway, there's no need to worry! She's doing fine!" The silver haired senior said before walking away as fast as he can. Tsukiyo sighed a little, 'You really can't lie, can you…?' He thought before heading towards his class.

…

A few days later, and no sign and word of Minako. Tsukiyo is getting pretty worried and has asked both Mitsuru and Akihiko about this multiple times, both of them just assure him that she is fine and not to worry, 'If you want to not worry, at least be truthful about her condition…'

After to no avail, he gave up and hope for the best for her.

Now, he is in the debate in the Kendo club about the position of captain. He was planning on resigning so he could focus more on his studies but the seniors doesn't want that and want him to be the new captain as the previous one has graduated.

"Come on, Tsukiyo-san! You have to be the captain. You're the only one that fit that position in this club." One of the seniors tells him.

"For the last time, no." Tsukiyo sighed, "I need to focus on my studies this year, and I decided to resign since last school term. I thought I've told you all that."

"B-But, you're our club's strongest combatant! We can't afford to lose the nationals this year!" Another of the senior cried.

"You have Kazushi, and let's not forget Hayase. They are impressive as well." He added, "It's not like the club will lose just because I quit."

"Amagi-senpai! You can't leave! Who could fill in the gap you have left?-!" A junior cried.

"I'm pretty sure someone will fill in that gap just fine." Tsukiyo stated, "Anyway, my decision still stands. That makes today my last day."

"…You're really set on this, huh?" Kazushi, a teen with short spiky black hair and dark grayish brown eyes stated, "Damn. It's definitely going to be less exciting without you…"

"You have Hayase to compete with, right?" His senior tells him.

"But it was always my goal to beat you in at least one match!"

"…" Tsukiyo walked to the mat, picking up one of the helmet before putting it on, "Then let's have one match, our last match."

"…You're on!" Kazushi said with vigor before rushing to the mat as well.

…

"Oh man, I lost again!" Kazushi cried out, "I guess your record will never change."

"I don't really care though…" Tsukiyo sighed, "But you have improved. I nearly thought I was in trouble there for a second."

"…I'll definitely live up to your legend, Amagi-senpai." He stated firmly, "I'll inherit your legacy!"

"I'm sure you will…" He said, before walking towards the locker room.

"Tsukiyo-san!" All the members of the club all stood in one row.

"THANK YOU FOR ALL THESE YEARS!"

"Yeah." Tsukiyo stated monotone as he waved one hand out to them.

…

The senior sighs as he left the café. 'Working at the café is exhausting. But man, what's in the coffee that makes it so incredible…?' He then took notice of a familiar person, a certain baseball cap wearing junior with an albino shiba inu nuzzling his leg.

"Hey." He greeted him as he walked up to Junpei, "Fancy meeting you here, Iori."

"Oh, hey. What's up, Tsukiyo-san?" He asked him, "What are you doing out so late?"

"Just ended my job at the Chagall Café." He tells him, "What about you?"

"Oh nothing. Just doesn't want to be at home right now." Junpei sighs.

"Trouble with your parents?" He asked.

"It's nothing you should worry about." Junpei tells him, "But then again, this is the first time I saw you outside of school."

"This is the second time we met." Tsukiyo reminded him.

"Oh, right." He chuckled. The senior then kneeled down by the dog, "Wait, aren't you that dog from the shrine?" He asked it.

"Arf!"

"Comforting the poor guy?"

"Arf! Arf!"

After standing up, Tsukiyo opened his phone to look at the time, "It's almost midnight…" He kept his phone, "Well, I got to go."

"Hey, mind if I walked with you part of the way?" Junpei asked, "The way to the dorms is the same way to my house partway."

"…Sure, why not?" Tsukiyo stated. As they walked away, the senior turned to the dog, "See you next time."

"Arf!"

They both left the mall, walking in the streets in the night illuminated by the street lamps alone. He looked up at the moon, an ominous feeling rolled down his spine. 'I have bad feeling tonight…'

"You okay, Tsukiyo-san?" Junpei asked, "You looked real pale."

"…It's nothing." He tells him.

"Could it be that you're scared of the dark?" The junior teased, "Man, you're like a little kid."

"Ugh… why do people just make random accusations about me like this…?" He sighed.

"Oh, the convenience store." Junpei stated pointing out said store, "Mind if I buy some drinks?"

"…Go ahead." The baseball wearing student rushes into the store. Tsukiyo sighed a little as he took out his phone to look at the time.

11.59pm

'Getting close to midnight…'

"Sorry for the wait!" Junpei shouted out as he came back with a plastic bag and two cans in his hands, "You can't have drinks without snacks!"

"…You really don't want to go home just yet, huh…?"

"Guh!" Junpei looked down in shame, "Y-Yeah…"

"…What snacks you have?" After splitting up the amount of snacks between them, they lean against the wall as they drank from their cans. "Hey, Tsukiyo-san." Junpei asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think… that I could become like you?" He asked the senior, who took a sip from his soda can.

"Why would you want to?" He tells him.

"No, it's nothing." Junpei sighed, "…Do you ever thought about this before? About having a skill that no one else have?"

"…Yeah, I guess…" Tsukiyo than proceeds to drink his can dry, before tossing it at the garbage bin, "Why are you asking?"

"Oh, no reason." Junpei chuckled slightly, "Just that silence with you can get really awkward really fast…"

"Yeah… Akihiko did say something like that once…" He muttered.

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

He blinked, the world now in the shade of green. The street lights are off, the convenience store is blacked out with the coffins at where the cashiers are supposed to be along with any passerby at that location. He looked up at the sky, the moon shaded eerily green too. 'This is the first time I'm outside during this time…' He then notices the tower in the horizon, a building out of a weird painting, 'Was that tower always there…?'

"H-Huh?-!" Tsukiyo looked to his side, surprised that Junpei is not a coffin, he dropping his juice can in shock, "W-What's going on?-! W-Why did it become green all of the sudden?-! A-And… w-what's with those c-coffins? T-This is too strange! God damn it, what is happening here?-!"

"Iori, calm down!" The senior tells him.

"H-How could I be calm?-!" He cried, "W-Wait… is this b-blood I'm stepping in…?"

'This is bad… usually when there's someone out of their coffins…' "Iori, it's not safe here!" Tsukiyo stated.

"Huh?"

"We got to-" Tsukiyo then heard something he did not wish to hear at all. The voices are back, and this time is quite clear.

" _ **Death is here."**_

He turned around, to find the black goo creatures crawling towards them. Not just them, similar creatures appeared alongside them, ones that looks like a floating tiara with long flowing hair and an eye mask, and ones that looks like a large glove with a mask attached to the top of the glove.

"W-What are those things?-!" Junpei cried out.

"Like I know!" The senior cried as he and his junior tries to make a run, only to find another group behind them as well. Looking around, they are surrounded by the creatures with no way out.

"W-We're trapped!"

"Not good…!" Tsukiyo muttered as looked around in panic, breaking into a cold sweat.

"Oh shit, are we going die here? Without anyone knowing…?" Junpei stuttered, "N-No! It can't end like this! There's so much I haven't done yet!"

'Die…?' Tsukiyo muttered, his mind going blank with only one image in his mind. A girl being pushed off the roof of a building by a man in a suit, 'No… not like this… that guy is still…'

"GAH!" His mind suddenly throbbed painfully, his skull feels like it is being pulled from all sides.

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!-!"

With a loud scream, his dull black eyes glowed blue before the sound of glass can be heard, glowing shards break through from the back of his skull, as they reformed into a large figure cloaked in black mist. It raises up its large sword and slices through all the creatures with one strike, killing off most of them in one swing.

Junpei looked in shock, fearful of the thing that has spawned from his senior. Tsukiyo screamed out again in pain, this time the figure raised its hand and cyclone of wind blew the remaining creatures away before a red visor glowed from within the fog and all of the creatures are burned away in a burst of flames.

Soon, all the creatures are destroyed, disappearing into wisps of black mist.

The figure that appeared, sheathed its sword on its back, before disappearing in a glow of blue light. Tsukiyo panted, emotionally exhausted from the incident as he tries to keep his consciousness from fading. Junpei is on the floor, shaking in fear with his eyes not breaking contact from his senior.

"T-Tsukiyo-san… w-what was…?"

"…" Tsukiyo looked dazed, looking up at the empty space as if he was trying to see something. At that moment, footsteps can be heard. Soon, a person can be seen, he recognized that silvery white hair from a mile away, "Damn, Akihiko… is this the secret you kept from me…?" He muttered before falling over and collapsing onto the ground.

"Tsukiyo-san!" Junpei cried.

Akihiko soon arrived on scene, surprised to find Tsukiyo on the floor unconscious. "Tsukiyo!" He cried out as he kneeled down next to him, his non-bandaged arm gently shaking him but not getting response. "Damn it…why you, of all people…"

…

Tsukiyo slowly and weakly opened his eyes, meeting a white ceiling. 'A hospital…?' He felt his arm is penetrated by something, raising it to see the needle that he assumed is connected to an IV drop. 'What happened…?' He tries to recall, the throbbing in his head isn't really helping but he manages to remember parts of the incident, 'Ah right, I was outside when that phenomenon happened with Iori…'

'Then… my head starts to hurt… and then…'

His headache came back and he clutched his head with both hands in hope of easing the pain, "Guh…" He groaned a little, before sighing as it went away. The door to his ward slides opened, and Akihiko walked in.

"Glad you're awake." He stated.

"Aki…hiko…?" He groaned a little as he tries to get up, "What… happened…?"

"You lost consciousness." Akihiko stated, "I was nearby so I managed to get you to the hospital. The doctor said you're just exhausted and needed rest."

"How long was I asleep?" Tsukiyo asked.

"Um… about two weeks…" He tells him, "Today is the start of May."

"I was asleep for that long?-!" He cried.

"Yeah, you were completely out cold." Akihiko chuckled, "But I'm glad you're awake now. We were worried that you might sleep through the first term. But considering you, that's possible."

"Ha, ha…" Tsukiyo laughed dryly.

"Well I better get back to my ward. Shinji is waiting." He stated.

"Shinjirou is here?"

"Yeah, just wanted to ask him about the Apathy Syndrome victims." He explained, "Oh, and… um… about what happened that night… It will all be explained later tonight."

"You better…" Tsukiyo stated, "Ugh… just remembering that night is giving me a migraine…"

…

Later that evening, after Tsukiyo was discharged from the hospital, he sat near the lounge with surprised that his suitcase is with Akihiko and Mitsuru as they walked in, along with a middle-aged man in a beige trench coat over a black turtleneck with glasses. "Good evening." She greets him, "Glad that you're alright."

"So Mitsuru is part of this as well…" Tsukiyo sighed, "Should have figured…"

"You probably has a lot of questions, and I'll try to answer them." The man stated, "Oh, I better introduce myself. I'm Shuji Ikutsuki, Chief Director of Gekkoukan High. And Chairman of the Iwatodai Dorms."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He greeted him, 'This guy…'

"Now then, do you believe me if I told you that the day is consists of more than 24 hours?" Ikutsuki asked.

"You're talking about that phenomenon that happens on the stroke of midnight, right?" Tsukiyo asked, "The sky turned green, any electronic devices stopped functioning, and people becomes coffins. …Did I get them all?"

"That's… exactly what I meant…" The chairman said surprised, "So you have experienced this for a while?"

"Almost a year." He stated.

"You managed to survive the Dark Hour for a year without a Persona?" Akihiko asked, "Not sure whether you are lucky or unlucky."

"I stayed in my room when this happened." Tsukiyo explained, "That night was the first time I was outside when it struck. And… Persona? Dark Hour?"

"That is the power you used that night." Ikutsuki explained, "We called them Persona. It is the only way you could strike back at those creatures. We call them Shadows."

"And the Dark Hour is a hidden time between days. Normally people won't know about it, since they are asleep in their coffins." Mitsuru explained, "Only people like you and us are able to function during that time."

"So I have this ability that allow me to move during this Dark Hour?" Tsukiyo asked.

"That's correct."

"Now then, Tsukiyo-kun." Ikutsuki said, "We would like to recruit you into our group. We are the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, SEES for short. On paper, we are officially a school club, but our true mission is to defeat and eliminate all the Shadows."

"Eliminate Shadows…?"

"You've seen the news, right?" Akihiko asked, "All those incidents, most of them were caused by them."

"Shadows can only be eliminated by a Persona-user." Mitsuru explained, "So, only we are capable to fighting them."

"And I have this ability…?" Tsukiyo muttered, "S-Sorry… give me a minute… this is just too much…"

"It's pretty overwhelming, isn't it?" Akihiko stated, "I know how it feels."

"So, we were hoping for you to join us." Ikutsuki stated, putting a small metal briefcase on the table. Opening it, it revealed a silver gun with a red armband with the initials: SEES in black.

"…" He looked down at the gun suspiciously, "…So you're telling me to join what basically is a combat squadron that kills creatures in a hidden time with a power that I so happened to possess."

"Pretty much." Akihiko said, "But it sounds much more troublesome the way you said it."

"So, are you in?" Mitsuru asked.

"…There still something you're not telling me, isn't it, Ikutsuki-san?"

"Hm?"

"Tsukiyo?" Akihiko looked at him with an eyebrow raised, "What are you…?"

"…But I guess you have your reasons not to…" Tsukiyo sighed, "All right, I'm in."

"Thank you, I appreciated it." Mitsuru said with a small smile.

"Welcome aboard." Akihiko chuckled.

"It's not like I have much of a choice here…" Tsukiyo muttered.

"Well then, good thing we brought your stuff with us." Ikutsuki chuckled, "Come on, we'll bring you to the dorms."

"…Dorms?"

…

After a long drive, they came to an old looking four story apartment. "The Iwatodai Dorms…" Tsukiyo mumbled, "Wait, wait, wait, wait… does that mean…?"

"What is it?" Akihiko asked.

"Oh nothing…"

When they opened the door, they are greeted by three students, all who Tsukiyo recognized.

"Oh, welcome back, Mitsuru-senpai." Yukari greeted, "Huh? Amagi-senpai?"

"Tsukiyo-san! You're awake!" Junpei greeted joyfully, "Man, I was worried about you! That was one heck of a coma you were in."

"Why is Amagi-senpai here? And the Chairman too." The brunette asked

"Good, you're all here." Ikutsuki stated, "Allow me to introduce our newest member."

"Nice to meet you all, again." Tsukiyo said tiredly, 'Sometimes I wish I was wrong for once…'

"Nice to meet you again too!" Minako greeted.

"Wait, he is part of SEES now?" Junpei asked before pumping his hands up in joy, "Sweet! I always wanted to see the Gekkoukan Samurai in action!"

"I see that title still hasn't left you." Akihiko said with a smirk.

"Don't remind me…" He groaned.

"Wait, does that means that…" Yukari asked.

"He has the potential, yes." Mitsuru explained, "He awaken to his Persona two weeks ago as well, the same time Akihiko found Iori."

"Although, could that thing be considered a Persona…?" Junpei asked worriedly, "I mean, that thing is all dark and shadowy, and Tsukiyo-san looks like he was in pain when it came out."

"…Don't remind me, please…" Tsukiyo groaned, "God… I feel the migraine coming back…"

"Probably because it was brought out unconsciously." Ikutsuki stated, "But with an Evoker, it will show its true form."

"Evoker?" Tsukiyo asked.

"The gun you were given." Akihiko stated.

"Oh…"

"Hey, why don't we go to Tartarus tonight then?" Junpei suggested, "That way, Tsukiyo-san could get some first-hand experience."

"Probably not the best idea." Mitsuru stated, "He just woke up, so he need some rest."

"I think he rested more than enough, though…" Yukari stated.

"I don't mind." Tsukiyo stated, "I'm curious about this Tartarus thing too."

"You heard the man." Junpei chuckled, "Let's go!"

"Are you sure, Tsukiyo-senpai?" Minako asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine." He tells her, "Besides, I need to move my body more. Being in a coma really stiffen up my muscles… But thanks for asking."

"Pretty sure it's all the time." Akihiko stated, "Lazy-ass."

"At least better than someone that overworks himself to injuring." He countered.

"Cut it out you two…" Mitsuru sighed, "Geez, act like seniors for once…"

…

After changing into their uniforms and exiting the dorm, they made their way to the gate of Gekkoukan High. "Um… why are we at the school?" Tsukiyo asked.

"Just wait." Junpei said chuckling, "You're in for a surprise~"

"…What do I get this feeling that I'll regret it…?"

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

At that moment the Dark Hour emerges, the ground shook. From the school grounds, a large building starts to rise up from the concrete. Mix mash of different architecture rose up piling on top of each other in the most impossible way, until the form into a large tower that seems to pierces the night sky.

"W-What…?" Tsukiyo looked in shock, 'I-It's the same tower as back then!'

"This is Tartarus." Mitsuru explained, "The labyrinth that only appears during the Dark Hour."

"L-Labyrinth?" He stuttered, "N-Never mind that! What's going on here?-! How did a fucking tower appeared in our school?-!"

"We don't know, that's why we're exploring the tower in the first place." Yukari stated.

"This is the nest of the Shadows." Akihiko explained, "It is where they all emerge from during the Dark Hour."

"Nest?" Tsukiyo blinked, "Wait, wait, you mean that the Shadows' birth place is our school?-! How come I didn't notice?-!"

"It's only natural that you didn't notice it, since it only makes an appearance in the Dark Hour." Mitsuru explained, "Normal people wouldn't notice. Let's go in."

They entered the tower through what was previously the front gate, arriving in a big room with marble floors and pillars and stairs that lead into a large clock with a small opening where the stairs are. "W-Whoa…" Tsukiyo muttered.

"I know, right?" Junpei chuckled.

"Welcome to Tartarus!" Minako chuckled.

"Thanks, I guess…?" Tsukiyo muttered, "Hey, how high is this tower anyway?"

"We don't know that either." Akihiko stated, "They only managed to get up to the first guardian."

"Guardian?"

"From what I can tell, the tower is split into different sections, each section being guarded by several guardians situated at different floors of that section." Mitsuru explained, "We only manages to get to the first guardian so far."

"That eagle thing isn't easy to take down." Junpei stated.

"No point in worrying about that now." Akihiko stated, "Why don't you enter it and see for yourself? You should get a feel for it first. Do you know how to use an Evoker?"

"You mean the gun?" The new member asked pulling out the silver gun from its holster, "It IS a gun, right?"

"Not exactly." Mitsuru stated, "I think it'll be easier to show it to you. Minako, if you don't mind?"

"Sure thing, senpai." The girl pulls her gun out of its holster, before pointing it to her head with her spare hand on her chest.

"W-W-Wait! What are you doing?-!" Tsukiyo cried.

"Persona!"

She pulls a trigger, and a sound of a gunshot followed by shattered glass, as glowing shards of glass appeared behind her and formed into a large figure, a humanoid that seems mechanic in nature with flowing locks of orange hair with a red scarf around the neck, a radio speaker built into it abdomen and a heart-shaped harp on its back.

Tsukiyo looked on in shock, 'W-What on earth…?'

"This is Orpheus! My Persona!" Minako smiled.

"That is a Persona." Mitsuru explained as the figure disappeared, "It is the power of the heart that we uses, a manifestation of the soul. The Evoker is a device that allow us to draw out this power."

"So… I have a similar power…?" Tsukiyo asked, looking down at the gun in his hand, "And… I called it out by shooting myself… what a weird way to start the semester…"

"Why not give it a shot?" Minako asked.

"In killing myself…?" Tsukiyo looked at her weirdly, before looking back at his gun. He sighed before taking a deep breath and closed his eyes. Anxiously, he raised his gun up trembling as he placed the muzzle under his chin on the right side.

" _[ - ]"_

He hear the voice again, but this time, his mind isn't hurting. Time seems to halt, as his mind turns completely blank and the words flow out of his mouth normally, "Per…so…na…" He pulls the trigger and he felt a familiar rush of power as the glass shards burst out of his head, reforming behind him.

This time, the figure is more visible. It is a large mechanical suit of armor, like ones of the medieval times, black armor plating all over it with black visor with a red line in the middle with his arms folded in front of him, a zweihander on its back that has a silver blade and guard, and red handle. Another thing is that its feet is like stumps, with no actual foot.

" _I am thou… and thou art I… From the sea of thy soul I've come forth…"  
"I am the Knight of the Lake… Proud Knight of Camelot: Lancelot!"_

Its voice boomed in his head before slowly dissipating like Orpheus. At that brief moment in time, he somehow is able to know what kind of abilities it has. 'Cleave… Garu… Agi…?'

"Wow… you did way better than I expected…" Mitsuru stated, "Then again, you did survive the Dark Hour for almost a year."

"By hiding in his room." Akihiko stated.

"Hey, what was I supposed to do?-!" Tsukiyo cried.

"Fight, you coward."

"What was that?-!"

"Either way, you proved you can use your Persona properly." She added, "I see no objections in him joining the frontlines."

"Really?" Yukari asked, "Wait, does that mean he would become our leader now?"

"Huh?" Akihiko looked at her curiously.

"I mean, he is the only senior that could fight at the moment, since Akihiko-senpai is still injured and Mitsuru-senpai needs to be on support…" She stated.

"I think the leadership should remain with whoever is in-charge in the first place." Tsukiyo stated, "I'm still inexperienced compared to you three."

"I agree." Akihiko stated, "If this guy is the leader, you're all goners."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"No complains here." Yukari said.

"And you, Iori?" Mitsuru asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! S-Sure! No problem!" Junpei stated.

"Well then, it's settled." Mitsuru stated, "Minako, you will resume your duties as field leader."

"Got it." Minako stated.

"And here, I got this for you." Akihiko stated giving Tsukiyo what appears to be a bokuto sword in a form of a chokuto, "You're more used to a straight sword, right?"

"Yeah, thanks, I guess…?" He muttered as he took the sword and swinging it down a few times to get a feel of it, 'Here I thought I could get away from Kendo…'

"Let's go, Tsukiyo-senpai!" Minako called out.

"Alright!" Tsukiyo replied as he walked up the stairs.

"Tsukiyo!" Mitsuru called out, "Be careful."

He nodded, before following the second years into the clock.

…

When they reappear on the other side, Tsukiyo was surprised by the green shaded checkered walls and ceilings along with some small slight blood stains on the floor.

"So this is Tartarus…" Tsukiyo muttered.

 _[Tsukiyo, can you hear me?]_

"W-What?-! M-Mitsuru?-! How are you…?-!" He cried out.

"It's her Persona's ability." Yukari explained, "She is our coordinator for our time in Tartarus."

 _[Tartarus's layout change every night, so one is necessary. It looks like the Shadows in this area isn't that strong. Perfect for teaching a new member]_

"Alright, watch and learn!" Junpei said as the first groups of Shadows, the hand-like creatures charged towards them as the flying crown creatures flew straight towards them, "They are small fry, so it'll be breeze!" He swings his nodachi sword and cuts down several in front of him. Yukari fires an arrow from her bow that kills one of the flying crowns, and Minako swings her naginata at the goo monster killing it.

Tsukiyo looked at the Shadows rushed towards him, "I guess I have no choice in the matter, huh…?" He held his sword with both his hands and slash down at the Shadows, killing it before following the group further in. As they ascended the floors, they ran into small hordes of Shadows rushing towards them that they effectively dealt with without use of their Personas.

It is until they reached the tenth floor that it got tougher. When they entered the tenth floor, Tsukiyo sensed something terrifying. 'What is this…?' He thought.

"What's wrong, Tsukiyo-senpai?" Minako asked worriedly.

"No, it's nothing…" Tsukiyo assures her.

 _[I detect 3 Shadows in this floor's central area. Once again, you'll be facing a new type of enemy so stay alert.]_

"The second one, huh?" Yukari muttered.

"Alright! Let's finish this boss and move on!" Junpei cheered.

"Let's go, everyone!" Minako cheered.

"Man, you two are two peas in a pod…" Yukari groaned.

"Their personalities line up, that's for sure." Tsukiyo stated before sighing a little. Following Minako's lead, they explore out the floor a bit more, including activating the teleporting device just in case. Turning one corner, they met into three hand-like Shadows, pink gloves with a diamond ring on its index finger.

"It's the Guardian!" Minako cried, "The Dancing Hands!"

 _[You can win! I'm sure of it!]_

"Right! Let's get things started!" Junpei smirked pointing his Evoker to his head, "Hermes!" He summons out his Persona, a humanoid figure with roman featured helm with wings on its sides, large golden wings connecting its hands to its legs, metal gauntlets and boots along with a black outfit. It charges towards one of the Hands to try and cleave through it with its wing attachment, only for it to be grabbed by it before tossing it to one side, crashing it to the wall as it dissipates.

One of the other snapped its fingers, fire erupted and bursts towards the rest, hitting Junpei, "Iori!" Tsukiyo cried.

"It's fine!" The baseball loving student chuckled, "Fire has little effect on me!"

"Io!" Yukari cried out placing her Evoker between her eyebrows and summoning her Persona, a large ox head with a lady chained on top of its head with golden locks of hair and in a pink dress, "Garu!" The Persona spread out her hands, a cyclone erupted from under one of them, having little to no effect, "Wind is no good!"

The Hand snapped its fingers yet again, lightning strike down at Yukari who cried out and fell down on her back.

"Not good!" Tsukiyo cried, as he used his Evoker, "Lancelot!" He brought out his Persona, the knight appearing behind him, "Um… Agi!" It raised its hand out as its visor glowed brightly, a burst of fireball blast straight through to the Hands, it took little to no damage in their eyes, "No good! Fire is not working either!"

It crawled towards Tsukiyo and swats him away into the wall hard, "Ow! T-That hurts…!"

The Hand then snapped its fingers, causing a cyclone to burst from under him and blasting him back slightly into the wall again.

"Amagi-senpai!" Yukari cried.

"I'm fine! That didn't hurt that much!" Tsukiyo called out.

"Take this!" Minako cried out as she pulls out her Evoker, "Persona!" She summons out Orpheus, the robot proceeds to use its lyre to slams straight down at one of the Hands, knocking it back onto the ground.

"All right! That worked!" Yukari cried, "It must be weak to strike attacks!"

"In that case-!" Tsukiyo ran towards it and strikes down at another of the Hands, knocking it down with its brethren. Minako summons out Orpheus again and it bashes its lyre on the last Hand, knocking it down with the rest.

"This is our chance for an all out attack!" Yukari stated.

"Let's do it!" Minako called out as she brandish her glaive weapon. The command issued, everyone charged towards the Hands, knocking them down for the count with their respective weapons. The Hands managed to get back up but weaken, "Last stretch!" Tsukiyo shouted out as he summons out Lancelot yet again "Cleave!" The knight swings its sword and slashes down at the hand, killing it.

"Go, Orpheus!" Minako summons out her robotic Persona, it cried out as the speaker on its abdomen turned on, a burst of fireball erupted and blasts another of the Hands, killing it as well.

"Let's go, Hermes!" Junpei summons his Persona as well, it flew straight at the Hands and slashes its winds attachment at the last one, slicing it in half.

"There goes the Guardian…" Yukari sighed in relief.

 _[Good work! We managed to clear another area.]_

"But man… I'm exhausted…" Tsukiyo panted before grunting in pain as he touched his bruise around his gut, "I'm definitely going to feel that tomorrow…"

"Let me help you with that." Yukari stated as she summons out Io, "Dia!" The Persona unleashed a green healing aura around him, his pain slowly fading away.

"That was… rather amazing…" He muttered, "Man, these Personas are amazing… Wait, if this is possible, why didn't you use it on Akihiko's arm?"

 _[There are limits to a Persona's ability. A Dia spell can't heal broken bones, the best it could do is heal up bruises.]_

"I guess that make sense." Tsukiyo stated. He then saw Minako and Junpei sitting on the ground panting for breathe, "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, just exhausted…" Junpei stated panting, "I know that we get much exhausted during the Dark Hour, but still…"

"Really? I'm feeling quite fine, actually." He stated, "Slightly fatigued, yes, but not exhausted."

"What?-!" The junior cried out, "Man, the jocks-types are really something else…"

 _[Even so, I suggest you come back for now. It's not a good idea to carry on till we're exhausted. Besides, the Dark Hour will be ending soon.]_

"Say, what would happened if we're in Tartarus and the Dark Hour ended?" Tsukiyo wonders, "Do we… get trapped here until the next Dark Hour…?"

"We… never really thought about that, honestly…" Yukari stated shivering.

"Y-Yeah! Let's go already!" Junpei stated as he ran towards the teleporting device.

"And… there he goes…" He sighed, "Well, shall we go?"

"Yeah, we should." Minako nodded. With that said, they went to the teleporting device and warped back to the entrance.

…

When they ended back at the entrance, they were greeted by Mitsuru and Akihiko standing there waiting, "Welcome back." He stated, "So, how was your first night as a Persona-user?"

"It was tiring, that's for sure…" Tsukiyo stated, "But that rush of power can get rather addicting…"

"But I'm glad you manages to handle yourself in there." Mitsuru stated.

"You handle the sword like a part of your body!" Junpei stated cheerfully, "Just what would you expect from the Gekkoukan Samurai!"

"Can we please stop using that title already…?" Tsukiyo groaned.

"It has already left an impression in the school's history, I'm afraid…" Mitsuru added, "Even if you quit the Kendo club, that name would stuck with you for the rest of the school year."

"That was what I'm afraid of…" He sighed.

"Wait, so that rumor about you quitting the Kendo club was true…?" Junpei asked, "Seriously?-!"

"I need to focus on my studies this year, so I can't go to any club activities. So I might as well quit, to avoid affecting my GPA."

"So you're the study-hard student as well?" The junior stated, "Man, there is a lot of things I don't know about Tsukiyo-san."

"The more you know, huh?" Yukari stated.

"Come on, let's head back to the dorm." Akihiko stated.

As they left the tower, the Dark Hour ended and the tower disappeared into nothingness. Tsukiyo looked back at his school, his mind already thinking and a slight smile on his face, 'This is going to be an interesting school year…'

…

 _To Be Continued_

 **There! Done! Finally finished second chapter. I was having trouble on how to introduce Tsukiyo into the main storyline. I was originally going to have him come in when they recruit Fuuka, but now that I think about it, it really isn't such a good idea…**

 **Oh, and I like to thank those who reviewed my first chapter. It was good to know that this was picked up by some people to read. Although there is one thing I don't get though.**

 **WHY DO ONE OF YOU THINKS THAT TSUKIYO IS YUKIKO'S SON?-!**

 **If you recall the timeline of P3 and P4, P3 occurred two years BEFORE P4.**

 **But that was just me being a bit annoyed by it. As compensation, I like to share some of Tsukiyo starting stats if it is in the game.**

 **Name: Tsukiyo Amagi  
Age: 18  
DOB: 30 September 1991  
Zodiac: Libra  
Height: 170cm (5'58)  
Blood Type: AB  
Arcana: The Tower**

 **Persona: Lancelot  
Initial Level: 6  
Strong Against: Wind, Lightning, Ice, Darkness.  
Weak Against: Strike Attacks, Fire.  
Skills: Cleave, Agi, Garu.**

 **With that, I thank you for reading and please Review!  
Arigatou!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Full Moon Empress**

He wasn't sure if he was lucky or unlucky, but the moment he woke up it is already golden week. Tsukiyo didn't really have much to do at the dorms at this rate, as he didn't planned to awaken to his Persona at all. But still, thanks to Mitsuru, he managed to keep up with the current events.

'Mitsuru's now the Student Council's President, huh…?' He thought over as he read his book.

With nothing much to do besides to catch up on his studies, he pretty much is holed up in the dorm. Speaking of the dorms, the arrangements for his new room is unique as he saw posted to last room at the end of the second-floor corridor, which is where all the male tenants stay and just above where Minako's room supposed to be.

Golden week just passed by him quickly.

…

It is the start of school, and he was indeed worried by several students, mostly the teachers especially Ono. He guessed it's because he is basically what the teachers wants in modern Japan, a modern samurai. On the way to school, however, he heard of a young elementary school hanging out at the shrine playing by herself. He choose mostly to ignore it, so he went to his class.

After school carries on, he was often asked by Ono if he was alright when it's his class as well as by the other students in his class. After school, he was about to leave when Mitsuru walked up to him, "Hey, Tsukiyo. Are you free today?" She asked.

"Yeah, nothing planned." Tsukiyo stated.

"Good to hear." She nodded, "I need you to come with me. I'll explain later."

Tsukiyo nod in response and followed her out. He can feel the jealous stares from the male community, but choose to ignore them completely. They left the campus and head to Paulownia Mall, sitting down on the bench near the fountain, "So, what is it?"

"I just want to know whether you are doing okay." Mitsuru explained.

"Just dandy." He stated, "But it was surprising. Persona, Tartarus, Shadows, to think that you and Akihiko are facing them for the past two years. But why?"

"Why?"

"I mean, even if you have the power to fight against them, you don't really need to, right?" He said, "Why go through so much trouble?"

"Tsukiyo, you know about the Apathy Syndrome?" She asked.

"Yeah, who wouldn't?" He said, "It's all over the news for the past two years."

"The Shadows are the cause for it." Mitsuru explained, "They feasted on a person's psyche until they are nothing but an empty shells. You've seen them, right? The Lost?"

"Seriously?-!" Tsukiyo cried, "When Akihiko said all the incidents on the news are caused by them, I thought he was just exaggerating…"

"Now you see why?" She said, "It's not just a gift we have received, it is also a duty we are given. And I intend to live up to my duty."

"As a Kirijo, right?" He stated before sighing, "Mitsuru, is there something you're hiding from us?"

"Huh? Oh, um…"

"It has always struck me odd, but why do Ikutsuki-san know so much about the Shadows, and Personas as well?" He stated, "Not only that, the fact that only Persona-users are capable to dealing with Shadows."

"…"

"I've searched around the net and found some things. Ten years ago, an explosion occurred here on Tatsumi Port Island, killing dozens of people." Tsukiyo stated, "One of them is Yukari's father, Eiichiro Takeba. I guess that's why Yukari agreed to be part of SEES. And another thing, the place of that incident was covered up, but I have a pretty good guess where it was."

"…"

"Gekkoukan High was built by the Kirijo Group, ten years ago. A bit too coincidental, don't you think?"

"…Your intuition is as sharp as ever." Mitsuru stated, "You're right, Gekkoukan High was used to cover up the cause of the explosion. It was originally a lab made by the Kirijo Group to study Shadows."

"Study?"

"The Shadows have ability that could alter space and time." She explained, "The Kirijo Group intended to possess that ability for their own gain."

"To control space and time…" Tsukiyo muttered, "Wait, then the Dark Hour, was it the result of the explosion ten years ago?"

"That's right." Mitsuru stated, "The Dark Hour is born that day, and the tower Tartarus risen up there ever since."

"So the Dark Hour and Tartarus, they're both the result of the Kirijo Group…"

"That's all I know." She stated, "Sorry for not telling you immediately."

"It's okay." He stated, "I'm sure you have your reasons, like Takeba's father's death."

"…"

"…You know, Mitsuru. You don't have shoulder everything on your own." Tsukiyo stated, "You have comrades now, and even though I'm still quite new, I'll be here when you need me."

"Tsukiyo…" She muttered, before smiling a little, "Thank you."

"No problem." Tsukiyo stated with a thumbs up and a dead-panned face.

"You never smile, do you?" She stated chuckling a little.

"…I can't…" He stated looking up into the sky with a solemn look, "…Not yet…"

"…?"

…

After reaching the dorms, Yukari suggested that they head to Tartarus tonight, which Minako agrees and they all made to the tower with their respective weapons. The frontlines manages to blast through the floors, despite the stronger enemies now until they reached the last floor guardian.

It appeared to be a messed up looking chariot, with three legs bound to look like a wheel and two large spikes sticking out the side of its torso and finally a yellow mask.

 _[It seems you've attracted the guardian's attention. Its Arcana is The Chariot.]_

"It's the last one!" Junpei cried out.

"It's Rampage Drive!" Minako cried out, "Everyone, get into positions!"

"Right!"

"Orpheus!" Minako summons her Persona and it swung its lyre at the Shadow, it damaged it slightly but it rushes towards and spins around, knocking the robot Persona away, "Man this is a tough one!"

"Garu!" Yukari cried out as she summons Io, it summons out a cyclone of wind from under it, it blasts right through it and slams the Persona away, crashing it into Yukari sending her falling onto the ground.

"Damn it, Hermes!" Junpei summons out his Persona, "Lancelot!" Tsukiyo did the same, and the two summons charges towards the chariot Shadow and hits down on it with their respective weapons. It spun even further and slams the two Personas away.

"Grr…! Agi!" Lancelot was summoned again and it blasts a flame at it, it barely flinched as it keeps on charging towards him. Tsukiyo dodged under the spinning blade as Junpei just jumped out of the way, "We need to weaken its defenses somehow!"

"Or we could raise our defense first!" Junpei stated as he summons out Hermes, "Time for a new trick! Rakukaja!" A bright glow surrounds Tsukiyo, just as the Shadow hits him. This time, he is managing to halt the attack by summoning Lancelot, it blocking with its sword.

"Nice one, Iori!" Tsukiyo cried, "Right then, Tarukaja!" A bright glow surrounds Minako, "Minako! Do it now!"

"Go Orpheus!" She summons out it yet again, its speaker roared out again as the Shadow is engulfed in fire. "And another!" The senior summons out Lancelot and it casts another fire spell on it as well. The flames engulfed the Shadow, it walking forward slightly before collapsing onto the ground.

"We won, somehow…" Junpei panted as Yukari cased Dia on Tsukiyo.

"That means the next block should be on the following floor." Minako stated, "Come on, let's go!"

They hurried up the stairs to the 16F, only to find the stairs to the next block to be blocked by some kind of green force field.

 _[It's a dead end… Good work. Return to the entrance.]_

When they are about to leave, Tsukiyo walked towards the force field, trying to see the next floor up, 'Can't see it…' He then looked over to the find one of the many suitcase-looking chest on the ground. Opening it, he found a piece of paper in it, inside reads:

{The electricity's hooked up. But, why do they need so much? There's only a school on this island…}

'This is…' Tsukiyo wonders.

"Hey, Tsukiyo-senpai, come on!" Minako called out.

"R-Right, coming!"

They exited the tower and return back to the dorms.

…

The next day is pretty boring at first, until lunch period. This time, thanks to having a fully functioning kitchen for once which restocks once a month, Tsukiyo manages to cook himself lunch instead of buying one from the store. 'This will save up quite a lot in the long run.' He thought as he heads towards his favorite spot by the tree.

When he reach there, he notices the teal haired girl he met on the first week of school being shoved around by several other girls around her age. He couldn't make out what they are saying, but he could see a bully when he sees one. Pissed, he stomped towards the group of girls.

"Hey!" He called out, getting their attention, "Don't you have other things to do?"

"Tch, what's your problem?" One of the girls, a blonde ganguro girl scorned.

"Hey, isn't he that Kendo prodigy?" Another stated, "The one who is good friends with Kirijo-senpai?"

"Yikes, we better go!" Another girl said. The three girls leave, leaving their victim on the floor.

"…Tch… bullies…" Tsukiyo groaned as he kneeled down in front of the girl offering his hand, "Need a hand?"

"T-Thanks…" The girl stated as she accepted his hand and stood back up, "Aren't you the one that helped me on the second day of school?"

"So you remembered." He said.

"Y-You're quite a legend yourself." She said, "Oh, how rude of me! I-I'm Fuuka Yamagishi. Um… it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Same." He greeted, "I'm Tsukiyo Amagi, but I'm pretty sure you know by now…" He looked at her cheeks, slightly blushed but a stained with tears, "Here…" He reached into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief, "To wipe your tears."

"O-Oh. T-Thank you…" She accepted it, wiping it with the grey cloth.

"…Are those girls been bothering since the start of the semester?" He asked her.

"…Err…"

"If you want to, you can just tell them to leave you alone." He stated, "Otherwise, they will just keep pestering you."

"N-No! It's not like that!" Fuuka stated, "T-They're really pestering me… they're just teasing…"

"Teasing? You were crying!" He shouted stepping forward, startling her. He notices the fear in her eyes and sighed as he stepped back, "Sorry… it's just… you reminds me of someone I've knew…"

"R-Really?" She asked.

"…Do you have your phone with you right now?" He asked.

"Yeah, but…" Fuuka took out her phone, before Tsukiyo snatched it out of his hand, "H-Hey!" He taped on it for a while, before handing back to her, "W-What did you…?"

"My phone number." He tells her, "If you ever need someone to talk to, just call."

"Eh?-! B-But…!" Fuuka cried.

"Just keep the number." He tells her, "Man… I sure was hoping for a peaceful lunch…" He sits down on the root of the tree and opened up lunchbox. "Do you have some sort of lunch?"

"A-Ah, yeah, I do…" She muttered; he then noticing the bread in her hands.

"You can eat here if you want."

"Eh? Um… sure…" She muttered before sitting down next to him and taking the bread of its plastic wrapper.

Soon, lunch period is over. They bit each other farewell and return back to their respective classes.

…

After school, he went to Chagall café for his part-time job. After earning some cash, he went back to the dorms. On the way, he bumped into Minako.

"Oh, hey, Tsukiyo-senpai!" She called out.

"Oh, Minako." He greeted, "On your way back?"

"Yup, you too?" She asked.

"Same." He nodded as they walked along the streets, "Say, Minako. Why do you join SEES?"

"Huh? Why you ask?"

"Among the group, you're the one that I can't quite figure out…" He stated, "I know Mitsuru's doing it because of personal reasons, Akihiko is a no-brainer, that muscle brain. Takeba doing it in order to find out something. Iori joined to have fun, or to try and play hero. But you, you I can't figure out. So why? Why risk your life to fight when you can just ignore it."

"…Because they asked."

"They… asked…?" He wonders.

"They needed my help." She stated, "So I couldn't say no."

"…Just like that…" He sighed, "…Quite impressive… To accept objects just because you were asked…"

"What about you?" She asked.

"Why I joined?" He thought for a moment, "I guess it's similar to you. Except, I can tell I wasn't given much of a choice… They are going to persuade me till the end so I choose not to go through all that. My other reason is probably…"

"Probably…?"

"Mitsuru and Akihiko." He explained, "On the first day of the semester, I told Akihiko that if he has another troubles, I will be willing to help. When they told me everything, I knew that needed more manpower, so I choose to help out."

"Like me, right?" She chuckled.

"Something like that." He sighed.

They made small talk along the way as they arrived back at their dorm.

…

The next day, it was rather bland. He didn't run into Fuuka today, so he had his lunch in peace. Checking the online articles, there has been an increase in Apathy Syndrome cases over the past weeks, but a stalemate over the previous days. 'Looks like Mitsuru's right…' He finished his meal and went back to his class.

After school, he went to the library to return a book he borrowed the month before. When he reached there, he greeted the girl behind the counter, "Hey there, Hasegawa-san."

The pale girl smiled back, she have curly dark grey hair and dark grey eyes with a beauty mark under her left eye. Despite being older than him, he knows she is actually a junior, "Hi, Tsukiyo-senpai. Another return?" She asked politely.

"Yup." He stated.

"Oh, Tsukiyo-senpai!" Another junior greeted, someone he did not expect to be here.

"Minako? You're part of the library committee now?" He asked surprised, "Wait, so you're part of the Student Council and the Library Committee? Isn't that a lot for one person?"

"I can manage!" Minako stated cheerfully.

"Man, you're tough…" He muttered, "If you are unable to handle it, just tell me."

"No problem!" She smiled.

"Well, good luck with the committee." He said as he left the counter to find any other books to borrow.

…

"I'm back." He greeted whoever is in the lounge at the moment, which would be Akihiko and Mitsuru.

"Welcome back." She greets him. Tsukiyo walked up to his room and return with a book at hand as he sat down on the sofa and starts reading. "…It's odd, really, how quiet it's been." Mitsuru stated.

"You're referring to the Shadows I take it?" Akihiko stated.

"It's been a month since the attack, yet I'm certain that won't be the last time they appear outside of Tartarus." She explained.

"True." Tsukiyo stated, "The number of Apathy Syndrome cases has increase quite significantly."

"You think something must be going on?" He asked.

"…"

They kept quiet, often bringing up small talk once in a while. Once it got late, they left for their respective rooms.

…

It is after school that day, Tsukiyo is leaving when he bumped into Minako. "Hey, heading back, Minako?" He greeted.

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling about tonight so…" She stated.

"…Huh…" He nodded, "Very well, shall we go head back together?"

"Yeah, sure!" She smiled.

The two walked back to their dorm together, having small talk along the way. It was along the street heading to Iwatodai Dorms that Tsukiyo starts to think about something. "…"

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He tells her, "…It's just I realized how fast time has flown by me… I told you before, right? That I transferred in two years ago? I came to Iwatodai around the first week of May. It wasn't weird for transfers in the middle of May, since it was still quite early in the semester, but I stood out a lot."

"Thinking back, it's probably because of my lack of expression…" He stated.

"I think that's your charm." Minako stated.

"Really? That's pretty nice of you." He stated, "Thanks." He looked up to the blue sky, the clouds blowing by, "I know it is late to say this but…" He turned to her and reached out his hand, "Welcome to Gekkoukan."

She smiled and shook his hand.

"Come on, let's head back."

They carry on walking till they reached back to the dorm.

…

When the Dark Hour strike, Tsukiyo remained by the lounge reading his book as much as he could with the eerie moonlight shining through the windows. 'It's a full moon today…' He thought. Originally, Minako wished to wait here to accompany him, but he declined and asked her to return back to her room.

He then felt a sting on the back of his head. 'There's that feeling again…'

The alarm for the place sudden sounded, startling him before recalling the instructions for such a situation. He quickly head to the command room and meet up with the rest, "Is it what I think it is?-!" He cried out.

"I've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus." Mitsuru explained, "We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible."

"Why is that?" He asked.

"Most people don't know about the Dark Hour exists. But if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic." She explained, "That must be avoided at all costs."

"Wait, is the Shadow like a kaiju now?-!"

"In other words, we need to kick some ass, right?" Junpei stated cheerfully, "Well, count me in!"

"*sigh* Junpei…" Yukari sighed.

"Hold on a sec here!" Tsukiyo stated, "How big is this big one you're talking out?-!"

"If it's anything like the last one, I guess about several feet tall." Mitsuru explained.

"That's it? That's a relief…" He sighed.

"Even if it's not that big, it is still very powerful and could destroyed most of the city."

"Never mind then…"

"Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the Chairman." She tells him.

"Wha-?-! Are you kidding?-!" Akihiko cried, "I'm going!"

"You still need to recover. You'll just be a hindrance." Mitsuru stated.

"What?-!"

"They'll fare better than you in your current state." She added, "Have faith in them, Akihiko… they're ready."

"… Dammit…" He growled.

"Relax! I've got it covered!" Junpei stated.

"Grr… looks like I've got no choice…" Akihiko muttered, "Minako, you're in-charge."

"Wha- her again…?" The junior mumbled dejectedly.

"We're counting on you." Mitsuru tells her.

"Leave it to me!" Minako said determined.

"I know you can do this." Akihiko stated, "Tsukiyo, make sure not to slow her down."

"Like that ever happened before…" Tsukiyo groaned.

"So it's decided that you're our leader, huh…?" Junpei stated, "Even when I'm the more experienced guy in the group…"

"Whether one is a man or a woman doesn't factor into it." Mitsuru stated, "The responsibility falls to those who have the gift. And let me add, if you ever say or do anything to condescend to her because she is a woman…"

"Oh no no no no! It's not that I looked down on her or anything!" He said in defense.

"Iori, you should choose your words carefully in front of Mitsuru next time." Tsukiyo stated.

"I-I'll take that advice to heart next time…" He groaned.

"The four of you should hurry and go on ahead." Akihiko tells them, "Mitsuru, you need to get ready, right?"

"Indeed. Let's rendezvous in front of the station." Mitsuru said

"Got it." Yukari said.

"Let' go, everyone!" Minako tells the group, leaving the command room.

…

They gathered up their gear and equipment and headed towards the train station. There, they waited. Tsukiyo leaned near the pillar as he took a quick nap as the others wait for their senior to arrive.

"Where is she?" Yukari wonders.

"She'll be here soon." Junpei stated.

"…So, why is Amagi-senpai napping at a time like this?" She asked.

"Who knows?" He chuckled, "But there is a rumor going on about a handsome geeky third year always found sleeping by the tree during lunch hour."

"Huh…" She looked up into the sky, "…It's a full moon tonight…" Yukari muttered, "But, it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour…"

A motorcycle engine is heard, "Huh? What the…?" Junpei muttered as a black motorbike rode in front of them before skidding to a stop. As the rider took of her helmet, "Sorry to keep you waiting." Mitsuru apologized.

"A motorcycle…?" Yukari looked on with an eyebrow raised.

"Listen carefully." She tells them, "Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same. The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"Are you serious?-!" Junpei cried, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Any electric equipment shouldn't function in the Dark Hour." This time, Tsukiyo is awake and explained to him, "That includes the Monorail."

"Exactly." Mitsuru stated.

"How do you know?" Yukari asked.

"I bought a flashlight to test out that theory few months back." He stated, "Tried and failed. And I was hoping to use that extra hour to try and study."

"But then… senpai's bike…" Junpei stated.

"It's special." Mitsuru stated, "Now, if the circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately. Let's get started."

"Everyone, let's roll out!" Minako called out.

"Huh? O-Okay…" Yukari muttered.

"Is this how we're going to do this?" Junpei muttered.

"…" Tsukiyo gave her a blank stare.

…

After checking their equipment and items, they left on their way. Making onto the tracks, they made their way along the tracks. The tower of Tartarus looming ominous in the background, "The tower looks rather terrifying from afar." Junpei stated.

"Indeed, you can tell how high it is." Tsukiyo stated.

"Do you think we can even reach the top at all?" Yukari asked worriedly.

"I'm sure we can." Minako stated firmly, "If we keep up the pace, we would!"

"Of… Of course we will!" Yukari stated, "What was I even saying before?"

"That's right! With me, we will definitely reach to the top without a sweat!" Junpei said cheerfully.

"…" He looked at their optimistic attitude, before sighing a little, "Troublesome…" He muttered as they walked along the tracks. Soon, they reached the monorail. "This is it… right?" Yukari asked worriedly.

"Let's hope it's not the one further up ahead…" The senior sighed.

 _[Can you all hear me?]_

"Yes, I can hear you dearly." Yukari stated, "We just got here, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary…"

 _[The readings are definitely coming from that monorail. Proceed with caution, and stay together.]_

"We got it." Tsukiyo said.

"Heheh, my Persona is just beggin' to be used!" Junpei snickered.

"Well then, let's head on in!" Yukari announced as she stepped onto the foothold of the train carriage and starts climbing up, "…Don't look up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Junpei groaned, "…But, don't blame me if I happened to catch a glimpse~" Tsukiyo nudged him with his elbow sharply.

"Say, Minako… what do you say we bury Junpei here and leave him behind?" Yukari asked.

"Tempting… But let's not." Minako said.

"Besides… aren't you wearing spats underneath anyway?" Tsukiyo stated.

…

Once they entered the monorail, they saw the coffin by the passenger seats, "This poor stiff must be a passenger…" Junpei muttered.

The very moment Tsukiyo entered the cart last, the doors automatic slides shut, "…?-!" Yukari looked around in shock. The older male tugged with all his might on the door, "Not good, it's sealed shut." He stated.

 _[What's wrong? What happened?-!]_

It looks like we're trapped inside…" Yukari tells her.

 _[It must be the Shadow… it knows you're there. Be ready for anything! Proceed with extreme caution!]_

"R-Roger!"

"Even if you say that…" Tsukiyo muttered as he looked around the carriage, completely empty besides the transmogrified passenger.

"What the heck…? I don't see any Shadows…" Junpei stated.

"It's so quiet, it's creepy…" Yukari muttered.

"Let's push forward…" Minako muttered as the four of them carry on walking through the carriage. When they arrived onto the next carriage, a floating Shadow appeared, this one similar to the Tiara Shadows inside Tartarus, but with a book atop of its crown. "There it is!" Junpei cried. The Shadow then proceeds to float away and into the cart ahead. "Hey! Get back here!" He was about to chase it when his arm was held back by Tsukiyo.

"Hold it, Iori." He tells him.

 _[Something's not right… the enemy is acting strangely…]_

"But, if we don't go after it, we're gonna lost it!" Junpei cried.

"Leader, what should we do?" Tsukiyo asked.

"We need to be cautious here…" Minako stated, "Senpai is right, this is too odd."

"Tch… Fine! I'll go by myself!" Junpei shouted as he pulls his arm out of his senior's grip and ran after the Shadow.

"Junpei! Wait!" Yukari cried.

"Takeba, look out!" Tsukiyo cried out as he swings his wooden sword, bashing away another the same Shadow from behind his junior. Several more appeared and they all prepared their weapons ready to fight. "Damn it, we have no time for you!" Tsukiyo summons out Lancelot, "Tarukaja!" A bright glow surrounds Minako as she swings her naginata and killing another Shadow. Yukari fired an arrow at another of the Tiara Shadows, killing them as well. After a few strikes, they manages to defeat the ambush Shadows.

"*sigh* This is just what the enemy wanted…" Yukari muttered.

 _[We have no choice. You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off one by one.]_

"Dammit, Stupei! What are you thinking?-!" She cried out, before hearing a small chuckle from behind her, turning around to check, only to see a dead-panned Tsukiyo, "Amagi-senpai, did you hear something?"

"No, nothing." He stated.

"…Minako, did you hear laughter just now?" She asked the leader.

"Hear what?" She replied smiling.

"…"

 _[…Anyway… From what I can tell, he's only a few cars ahead.]_

"Okay, we'll catch up to-" They were then intercepted by several more Shadows, "Gah! Get out of our way!" They rushed forward, killing them as fast as they could. Due to the small area of the train carriage, they limited their Persona summons to only two people at a time, otherwise there won't have enough room.

Making it to the next carriage, "Damn it, not here!" Tsukiyo cried out as they rushed forward to the next cart. Few more, ones that look like a mix of a Christian cross and a scale and a sword, appeared in front of them, "Get lost!" He summons out Lancelot and have it slashes all of them in one strike.

They crashes into the next cart, "Junpei's not in this car either…" Yukari sighed, "He should know it's too dangerous to go alone… Don't you think he's acting weird? Did you say something to upset him, Minako?"

"No… I don't think so…" She muttered.

"We can think about this once we catch up to him." Tsukiyo tells them. The two girls nodded and they carry on running through the carriages. Finally, they managed to catch up to Junpei, "There he is!" Yukari cried, the baseball teen fighting against a large group of Shadows and is almost overwhelmed by them, "Shoot! He's surrounded?-! We got to help him!"

"Junpei!" Minako cried.

"Erk! I-It's fine! I got it under control!" Junpei shouted back as he swings his sword at them, "Take this! You freak of nature!"

"We need to help him, now!" Tsukiyo stated as he summons out Lancelot, the Persona proceeds to blow them away with a Garu spell. With them disoriented, the others took their chance to kill them with their respective weapons. When the fight ended, Junpei refused to look at them while Yukari casted Dia on him.

"See, this is what happens when you don't listen!" She tells him angrily.

"Are you alright?" Tsukiyo asked.

"O-Of course I am…" He stated, "I was doing just fine…"

"EXCUSE ME?-!" Yukari cried.

 _[Be careful, you all! I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!]_

The entire carriage shook a little, before they start to notice that the scenery outside is moving backwards, only, "Whoa, what the?-! …Why are we moving?-!"

 _[It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control…]_

"You think?-!" Tsukiyo shouted.

"Um… this doesn't look good." Junpei stated.

 _[If we can't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!]_

"WHAT?-!" Yukari cried, "Oh, god! W-What are we gonna do?-!"

 _[Calm down and listen. I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the one we're after. You'll have to defeat it to stop the train!]_

It was then that the other Shadows starts to crawl and advance towards them, "Easier said than done!" Tsukiyo cried. "What kind of messed up ride is this?-!" Junpei cried.

The both of them summons out their Personas, Hermes and Lancelot cleave through the Hands Shadows in front with their weapons, before Minako used Orpheus to cast Agi on the Table Shadows, knocking them down and Yukari ends them with an arrow to their masks.

 _[You don't have much time! Run!]_

"Let's go, everyone!" Minako cried as they took to a run. Yukari did noted that the train picked up speed to what Tsukiyo believed to be the monorail's top speed. They took down all the Shadows that tries to stop them from advancing, thankfully they are weak to fire so launching Agi spells are working for them.

Soon, they reached the front car, "This is it!" Tsukiyo cried as he slides the door open. He could not believe what is in there. A large lady like Shadow with her make-up with one half of her body, black and white scroll-like tendrils around her head, an eye mask around her face.

"There it is…!" Junpei cried, "What the hell?-! Is this the friggin' boss?-!"

"We're in the front car; it's gotta be!" Yukari said.

 _[Hurry!]_

"Let's do this, everyone!" Minako stated out as they readied their weapons. "Orpheus!" She summons out her Persona, the robot swings its lyre at the Shadow boss, her tendrils strikes out hitting it away. "Hermes!" Junpei summons out his and unleashed a burst of flame at it, she took the hit and retaliated by unleashing ice shards towards them, most of them missed passed them or hit onto the sides of the carriage.

"We need to lower her defenses!" Yukari cried.

"Way to state the obvious!" Tsukiyo shouted, "Do any of you have that kind of skills?"

"I only have the opposite." Junpei stated sighing.

"In that case!" He summons out Lancelot, "Tarukaja!" He surrounds Junpei with the glow. At this point, the Shadow summons out its reinforcements, couple of Tiara Shadows rushing out towards them, "Shit! Reinforcements!" He called out as he swings his sword at one of them, killing it instantly.

Yukari fires another arrow at the other Shadow, just as the boss unleashed another hailstorm at them, the ice shards hitting and blasting both her and Tsukiyo back a bit.

"Tsukiyo-san! Yuka-tan!" Junpei cried, "Damn it, I'm not letting Tsukiyo-san's buff goes to waste here!" He tries to summon, but when he pulls the trigger, nothing happened. "Eh?" He pulls a few more times, "N-No way… out of juice…?"

The ice attack launched straight at him, "Junpei!" Minako cried as she stood in front of her and took the blow, "Ah!" She was blown back and landed near the entrance of the carriage.

"Minako!" He cried out.

"I'm fine…!" She stated before placing her Evoker to her head again. She stood there in a daze, as the Shadow took this chance to unleash another ice attack at her, "Minako!" Tsukiyo and Yukari cried out. She stood there, before pulling the trigger, "Jack Frost!" She summons out another kind of Persona, a white snowman in a blue cap appeared and stood in front of them with a cartoonish smile, as it flapped its arms and the ice attack is blocked.

"N-No way…!" Junpei muttered, "C-Come on now…!"

"Another Persona…?-!" Tsukiyo muttered.

The snow man persona stood in front of them, the ice attack being blocked by it, "I-It's blocking the ice spell?" He wonders, "But she can't attack if she using it to block!"

"Junpei!" Minako called out, "I'm counting on you!"

"…R-Right!" Junpei placed his Evoker to his head once more, "Come on, Hermes… this is the last stretch…!" He summons out his Persona once more, Hermes rushes forward and cleaves through her, avoiding the Shadow that were summoned as it slices right through its head, killing it instantly as its body collapsed and dissipated into black goo like any other Shadow.

"W-We did it…" Tsukiyo panted, before realizing, "H-Hey, wait a minute, why is the train…?"

"Why isn't it stopping?-!" Junpei cried.

"We're going too fast! We have to pull the brakes or else…!" Yukari cried.

 _[What are you waiting for?-! There's a train up ahead!]_

"Easy for you to say!" Tsukiyo cried as he looked around the crazy controls of the driver seat, "U-Um…"

"Dammit, we don't know how to stop this thing!" Junpei cried.

"Leave it to me!" Minako stated as she rushed forward and pulls a random lever.

"Wait, don't just-!"

"KYAHHH!-!"

They all braced themselves as the train starts to screech as the brakes are deployed. The entire carriage shook wildly, everyone inside grab hold onto anything as the train starts to slow down, before stopping just in front of the other train. "D-Did we stop…?" Junpei asked worriedly.

"I-I think so…" Yukari said shakily.

 _[Is everybody all right?]_

"Uh, y-yeah… we're okay…" Yukari sighed, "Ha, hahaha… my knees are still shaking…"

"Dude… I'm like drenched in sweat…" Junpei sighed in relief.

"I think my heart stopped a little…" Tsukiyo sighed, "How about you, Minako?"

"That was a breeze." She stated.

"Seriously? Yeesh, you're a real tomboy…" Junpei panted.

 _[*sigh* I'm so glad you're safe… I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end.]_

"I doubt you'll be able to do anything in this situation, though…" Tsukiyo mumbled.

 _[I don't detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home.]_

They sighed in relief, before Yukari turned to Minako, "But, how do you know which one was the brake?" She asked.

"Woman's intuition~!" She said proudly.

"…" Tsukiyo looked at her with a blank stare.

"I don't think this is the kind of thing woman's intuition helps with…" Yukari sighed.

"Ah… whatever…" Junpei groaned, "Wanna get a bite to eat? I'm freaking hungry!"

"I think the convenience store has a special on lunchboxes this week." Tsukiyo added.

"Uuhh, hate to break it to you, Junpei, but girls usually don't get hungry in the middle of the night…" Yukari stated.

*GROWWWWWLLLLLL*

They paused, before facing Minako, the girl giggled in embarrassment with a red blush reaching her ears, "Ehehehe…"

"…I guess dropping by the convenience store is okay once in a while." Yukari stated.

"Alright! Let's go! Tsukiyo-san's treat!" Junpei stated happily.

"Huh?"

"A senior should treat his juniors for a job well down, right~?"

"W-Wha- Say something, Mitsuru!" Tsukiyo cried.

 _[It's only polite for the seniors to reward their juniors when they perform well.]_

"Even you too?-!" He groaned, "I think I can see my wallet become an endless void…"

…

 **There, another one completed. It took a while for me to write this. Mostly is due to the fight scene in the Full Moon Priestess operation. It wasn't easy, since there isn't much to work with in the first place considering it to be an RPG in the first place.**

 **It's also pretty hard to work on his social aspect, and Tsukiyo's personality is a tricky to deal with. I'm considering how to portray his Kuudere-like persona, and his relationship with the seniors of SEES.**

 **Another thing, I saw a review that stated Tsukiyo is gary-stu. At one glance, that is true; but that is because that is what he is shown to everyone. An emotionless sport prodigy. Although he has shown some emotion of shock and sometimes anger, and he is not completely a genius, either. He's similar to Naoto Shirogane, with more confidence with his intuition and never one to interfere in something he believes has nothing to do with him.**

 **With that, I thank you for reading and please Review!  
Arigatou!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 The Tower's Silent Requiem**

Tsukiyo was glad that tomorrow was Sunday. He was too exhausted from the escapade of the previous night. So, right now, he is relaxing at the lounge while checking up with the news. "Looks like the monorail incident didn't make the news…" He sighed in relief.

"I feel sorry for the monorail driver though…" Minako stated, the girl sitting on the sofa on his left, "I mean, it was our fault that…"

"It can't be helped." He tells her, "No one knows what happened during the Dark Hour, and he is the only suspect they could find."

"Even so…"

He then noticed Mitsuru coming down the stairs, before seating on the sofa facing him. She sighed a little, Tsukiyo looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Is something the matter, Mitsuru?" He asked.

"I… I was just thinking about last night…" She stated, "I wasn't strong enough last time, which resulted in a difficult situation. I wanted to apologize for that."

"There's no need to apologize." Minako tells her.

"That's very kind of you…" Mitsuru said with a smile, "But, even if you forgive me, I don't think I can forgive myself. I promise to be stronger if there is a next time."

"*sigh*" Tsukiyo sighed, before walking back to his room, the two girls' eyes following him as well as the two other juniors that hang around the lobby.

"Hey, senpai." Yukari asked.

"Yes?"

"Was Amagi-senpai always like this?" She asked, "This… emotionless…?"

"As long as I've known him." Mitsuru nodded.

"I know I've just met him only a month ago… but he is almost like a robot at times…" Junpei stated, "The few times I've talked to him, he was hardly in the conversation at all."

"I know what you mean." Yukari agreed, "I bump into him a few times last year, and almost every time I've mistaken him to be one of the Lost."

"He hardly shown emotions to anyone." Akihiko stated as he entered the lounge, "But that doesn't mean he is without them. You should've seen the moments, right?"

"Yeah, but usually it is when he is angry or panicking." She said, "Kind of think of it, I've never seen him smile before. I wonder why?"

"Not sure." He stated, "No one knows for sure."

Around that time, he came down the stairs in his casual outfit, a dark gray long sleeved t-shirt under a sleeveless zipped hoodie and white pants with blue converse, and left the dorm.

"…You don't think that he… heard us… right?" Junpei asked worriedly.

"…" Minako looked outside, staring at the door.

…

He took a stroll around town, window shopping around. He then came across a small bookstore, "Bookworms…?"

He entered the store, an elderly couple manning the counter. The elder man moving books to one side and another, while his wife dusting the counter, "Oh, welcome!" The elderly lady greeted, "Oh my, what a dashing young man. What may our humble shop help you with?"

"I'm just checking…" He muttered as he skim through the rows of books. There were plenty of quite dated books, and classic literature books of years old that he has heard about from the classic lit teacher Ekoda. He could tell that some of these books are quite old from yellow pages.

He saw some detective novels that were quite new and decided to purchase a few. As he left the strip mall, he stopped by the beef bowl shop for some lunch, after a while, he decided to wander about at the shrine for a while.

When the sun starts to set, he decided to wander to the Moonlight Bridge. Once there, he looked over at the river, the sun already setting over the horizon coloring the city of Iwatodai in a bright hue of orange and red, the water reflecting the same color.

As he was mesmerized by the scene, he failed to notice Minako walking up to him. "Tsukiyo-senpai!" She called out, only for the teen to ignore her and kept on looking out at the sunset. She faced the scenery, understanding the beauty of the scene.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He stated, startling Minako a little, "Don't act so surprised, I'm not completely clueless about everything…"

"…" She stood next to Tsukiyo looking over the bridge, "Why are you here?"

"This is only place I can be relax." He tells her, "Normally, it would be really noisy, but there isn't much traffic today."

"Relax?"

"…Come on, I'll treat you to dinner. How does Hagakure sound?" He asked.

…

They entered the ramen shop, they already have two steaming bowls of noodles in front of them. Minako slurping away at the noodle noisily. "You really like the noodles, huh?"

The girl nodded in agreement as she carries on eating. Tsukiyo slurped some of the noodles, and swallowed a mouthful before stopping. "…Minako." He said turning to her, "Do I seem all that… emotionless to you?"

"Huh?"

"I've heard them talking about me back at the dorm, about me looking like one of the Lost…" He stated, "Normally, I wouldn't care… but now…"

"You do sometimes, actually." She stated.

"Yeah, I thought so…" He sighed, "…It's not that I don't like to show my emotions… it's just I'm scared to."

"Why?"

"…I…" He muttered, "I was scared if I do, I might scare off you guys…"

"You're pretty scary already, though…" Minako stated, "Almost creepy at times."

"Is that how you see me…?" He sighed, "I…was quite a delinquent back in middle school. I was always on the discipline committee's blacklist, beating up everyone who stood against me, most of them due to my… anger issues… It was that same issue that caused me to transfer here to Gekkoukan. I didn't want to cause my parents anymore trouble… so I choose to mask my emotions."

"Mask it?"

"If it's my anger that caused this, then I just need to mask if with something, to block showing that emotion." He stated, "But… I guess that just caused the others to be creeped out by me…"

"…" He looked down at the bowls, "Come on, let's finish this and return to the dorm."

After eating and paying for the meal, they return back to the dorm.

…

The next day, Tsukiyo was reminded that mid-terms exams starts next week. 'I guess that's why Mitsuru is always holed up in her room few days ago…' At lunch period, he decided to have his lunch again at the persimmon tree. On his way there, he bumped into Fuuka yet again.

"T-Tsukiyo-senpai!" She greeted quite surprised.

"Oh, Yamagishi-san." He greeted, "Surprised to bump into you again at the same place…" He then notices the rather big stack of bread and carton drinks in her arms, "You're eating that many…?"

"N-No, these are for the girls." She stated, "They asked me to buy it for them."

"…so they used you." He sighed.

"T-That's not it!" She cried, "I don't mind, really!"

"Can't you see that they're using you as their servant girl?" He groaned, "Let me guess, you used your own money to buy these too?"

"I-It's fine! Really!" She stated.

"No, it's not!" He shouted grabbing onto her shoulder firmly, "You need to break away from those girls! You can't keep being pushed around by them!"

"I said its fine!" She cried out, shaking his arms off before running off.

"Wait, Yamagishi-san!" He called out, only to see her running figure disappear behind a corner. "…Seriously… what's wrong with me…?"

After school is over, he decided to stroll about Paulownia Mall to cool his head. As he sat down on the bench, he sighed as he looked up the glass panel ceiling, the clear blue sky shining down. He thought back to Fuuka, the girl's eyes of fear in them when he nearly blow his top, 'I told myself that I wouldn't let my emotions go to my head… and yet I nearly lose my cool towards Yamagishi-san…'

His mental image of Fuuka is briefly being overlay by another girl, this one with smooth black hair and equally black eyes as his own, "…I guess… they are alike in some way…"

After sitting there for about an hour, he left the mall and return to the dorm.

…

When he returned to the dorm, Minako immediately walked up to him. "Yes, Minako?" He asked.

"Do you know any knowledge about fixing electronics and machines?" She asked.

"Tech stuff? Why?"

"Well, Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take a look at the equipment of the command room since they seems to malfunctioning." She explained, "I've asked Yukari and Junpei, but they doesn't seems to be helpful."

"…And I'm pretty sure Akihiko isn't any better at it either…" He groaned, "Well… I have some knowledge on it, read some books on it but not sure if that's any good…"

"Any help is good." She said as they proceed upstairs.

They went up to the command room where Tsukiyo take a good look at the circuit board under the consoles, "…No… it's impossible for me after all…" He stated bluntly, "Oh well, maybe she can call an electrician or something."

Minako meddled about on the keyboard, only to find that the surveillance camera recordings has turn itself on. When Tsukiyo looked at it, he notices CCTV recordings of every room in the dorm, "Wait… they bugged our rooms?-!"

She then notices the date of the recording, {10/05/2009 – 01:23:02}. "Want to watch this?" She asked.

"You want to peek at everyone's daily lives…?" He asked, "T-That's beside the point, why did they bugged the entire dorm? Are they paranoid or something?"

She shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of confused before starting the playback:

 _ **[Command Room: 05/10/2009]**_

 _ **In the command room, Ikutsuki is sitting on the sofa alone writing something in a file of papers.**_

" _ **Hm… A Shadow in the middle of town… It managed to take over public transportation… I should investigate whether this means it's finally begun…"**_

"…"

" _ **Monorail…Listen to the monorail in monaural…"**_

 _ **He broke out into chuckles at the silly pun, "Oooh… I must make a note of that one…!" He writes that down on a separate notepad.**_

" _ **Luck played an uncomfortably large part in the victory… Especially towards the end… if she hasn't guessed at the right controls, things could have been very bad. For Shadows to work in a group to overrun large machines is unprecedented…"**_

"…"

" _ **The engine… That was an engine-ous move!"**_

 _ **He broke out into chuckled yet again, "What's with me today?-! I'm on a roll! Oh yeah, better write that one down too…" He scribbles onto the separate notepad.**_

"…"

"… _ **One should always wear bright clothing at night… Otherwise, the Shadows could make it dangerous to walk near traffic!"**_

 _ **He broke out into chuckles yet again, " Whoa, I'm getting off subject... but who cares?-!"**_

" _ **Hey… I should write all these down and show them off the next time everyone gets together!"**_

"…"

" _ **Don't care for seafood? They also serve GROUND beef!"**_

 _ **He broke into full out laughter at that point, "This has nothing to do with the status report anymore, but I'm having a blast! Let's see… what else~?"**_

 _ **[Recording End]**_

"…"

"…"

The two looked at each other, making a silent agreement to never speak of this ever again. Then, Minako left the room, leaving the senior alone in the room.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Pft!" He broke out into hyena of laughs, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!-!" He even dropped to the floor to roll around in laughter, "Monaural! HAHAHAHA! T-They just sound the same! That…!That makes no sense! And engine-ous! HAHAHAHAHA! It's…!It's just the first two syllables!"

"An-And what do bright clothing has to do with Shadows and traffic! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

He laughed the entire night away, not knowing that Minako is standing by the door listening on his laughing fit.

…

The next day, Tsukiyo bumped into Minako on the way to school at the monorail station, "Oh, morning." He greeted.

"Morning!" She greeted.

The train head on its way towards the artificial island, Tsukiyo busy looking at his phone checking the cases of the Apathy Syndrome. "There are lesser cases of Apathy Syndrome in the last few days…" He stated absent-mindedly, "Must be due to the defeat of that large Shadow."

"Also because of we did our best!" She added.

"Yeah, that too." He stated, "Hey, did you study these past few days? Midterms are coming, so you better prepare. I sure hope that nothing big happened during that time… Oh yeah, that reminds me. Mitsuru told me to tell you guys. She's apparently going to reward you juniors if you did well on the midterms."

"Oh, that's nice." She said.

"Yeah, but knowing her, her standard of doing well is to get at least the top ten spots of your grade…" He groaned, "Good luck with that."

After a few more small talk, they left for their respective classrooms.

…

Tsukiyo decided to return back to the dorms after school to try and study some more. He was falling behind slightly due to his two weeks coma and he needs to catch up as soon as he could.

When he left the dorm to buy some dinner, he came across one of the Lost, a young woman wandering around with a blank daze and just acting like a zombie. 'Even if there are lesser cases, the Lost are still everywhere…'

After dinner, he returns back to the dorms.

…

The next day of school wasn't as eventful as yesterday, although he did hear some rumors about the school being haunted due to some mysterious incidents in town. So after school, he went back to the dorm to study again. After a while, he was called by them that they are going to Tartarus today.

Mitsuru informed them that the first barrier to the next section has disappeared, theorizing that the other barriers between each section will disappear with time. She re-confirm their goal of reaching the top of the tower, before they decided to move upwards towards the next section.

Right now, they are in the second section of the tower, this one seems to be purple in shade and theme, different from the green glass plane feel of the first section. Unfortunately, Mitsuru isn't able to scan too far at the moment so they decided to explore a bit more.

Tsukiyo has taken note that he has improved over time, the battle on the monorail definitely helped their Personas' fighting ability. He also notes that Minako now has the ability to switch Personas mid battle, already showing off different Personas besides Orpheus in battle.

The second section has Shadows that are far stronger than the previous section. There stronger versions of the Tiara Shadows, Table Shadows, Hand Shadows and the Balance Shadows and several new ones like ones that looks like a male and female dancer without their heads with a floating heart with a mask on it, large raven like Shadows, a lion chained to a metal ball where the mask is, and even ones that look like a large wheel that reminds him of a youkai creature of folklore.

After a while, they cleared a few floors, sighing in relief as they took a small break. "Man, the Shadows just keep getting tougher the higher we go up." Junpei stated.

"It's like that video game I played as a kid…" Tsukiyo stated.

 _[It appears so… I've sensed a strong presence five floors above you, proceed with caution.]_

"Got it."

"…Why is she always like that…?" Yukari muttered.

"…" Tsukiyo keeps his mouth shut, knowing the misplaced grudge between the archer and his friend.

"Hey, guys!"

"What is it Minako-W-W-What the hell?-!" Junpei cried out in shock.

There stood their leader, only clad what could be described as 'armored panties'. Chainmail designed like a girl's lingerie with matching stockings and gloves, even a knight visor in her hair. Minako definitely filled up the needed positions perfectly, her curves shown to the male members of the party.

"M-Minako! W-What are you wearing?-!" Yukari cried blushing.

"It's called Battle Panties~!" She giggled, "I've got it from a friend, and I want to show it off!"

"…" Junpei and Tsukiyo looked at her with bright red faces, not sure where they should look or whether they should look at all.

"You guys better not be looking!" Yukari warned them, the two guys quickly turned around, "Minako! You can't wear that to battle! What if it falls off during a fight?-!"

"…Hm… you do made an excellent point." She nodded in understanding, "I'll go change!" She ran off into a random corner.

The two guys looked at each other, Junpei whispered to him, "Did you get hard?"

"…Are you seriously asking that question…?" Tsukiyo asked.

After that, awkward incident, they carry on climbing the tower, before making to the floor where the Guardian is, where there are three big Table Shadows ready to fight. "Let's end this quickly!" Tsukiyo called out as he summons Lancelot, "Let's see… Garula!" His wind skill has improved on the way up here, the cyclone of wind stronger than before as it blow away one of the Tables.

"Alright, my turn!" Junpei summons out Hermes, "Let's see… Assault Drive!" The persona charges forward, ramming itself into another of the Table that disintegrates into nothing on impact to the ground.

"Last one!" Minako cried as she summons out Jack Frost, "Bufu!" It waved its arms a little, a blizzard surrounds the last table, incasing it in ice before it broke into pieces.

"Yahoo! Easiest guardian yet!" Junpei cheered.

"This is definitely easier than I thought…" Tsukiyo muttered.

"…" Yukari stood there, looking down on the ground.

"Is something wrong, Yukari?" Minako asked worriedly.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." She tells her, "Don't worry about it."

"…Okay…" Minako muttered, "Why don't we head back for now?"

"Already? I can keep on going!" Junpei stated.

"No… I agree with her." Tsukiyo stated, "The easier the boss, the more likely for the next one to be far stronger than the previous. We need to prepare for now. Besides, we have midterms next week, so we need to study as well."

"Oh man, don't remind me!" Junpei groaned.

 _[What Tsukiyo said is true. We can't rush things as they are. Come back for now.]_

"'Kay, 'kay…" He moaned out in anguish, "I sure wish I'm gifted in studying like Mitsuru-senpai…"

"She is definitely incredible…" Yukari muttered.

"…She needs to get rid of that bad habit though…" Tsukiyo muttered.

"Huh? Did you say something, Tsukiyo-san?" Junpei asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all." He stated.

After exiting Tartarus, they went back to the dorm to rest.

…

The next day, Tsukiyo sat down by his favorite spot by the persimmon tree during lunch period eating his lunch while simultaneous reading a new detective novel he bought from the Bookworms bookstore. Once again, he somehow or the other lost his contacts yet again, as such wore his glasses to school.

He was getting to a good part, before someone overshadowed the perfectly good shade of the tree. He looked up, Minako looking down at him smiling, "I was right!"

"…About what?"

"That this is your favorite spot." She stated sitting down on the grass next to him.

"…Yeah, so?" He asked. She just beamed at him, he turned back to his novel reading. Once he finished his meal, he took out a handkerchief to clean his glasses.

"You look rather cool with your glasses on." Minako stated.

"…" He looked down at his glasses, before putting it back on, "I know that. I just find it rather annoying to maintain every day so I prefer contacts."

"Isn't contacts harder to clean compare to glasses?" She asked.

"…indeed they are." He stated, turning back to his book, "…I don't get you…"

"Huh?"

"Normally, people would just try to stay away from me, either creeped out by me or just got bored being around me." He stated, "But you… you didn't walk away. If it's because you're the field leader, I understand but…"

"It's because I want to spent time with you!" She tells him with a smile.

"Really? Huh…" He muttered, "Thanks, I guess." He looked down at his book, before turning to her, "Hey, what kind of novels do you like?"

"Hm… I'm more of a manga person myself." She stated.

"Is that so? Can't argue with you there. Most of the people our age prefer looking at pictures than reading out words…" He stated, "Even so, a great story sometimes can only be brought to life by words."

They sat down just making small talk until lunch period ended.

…

After school, he stopped by the mall to see if he could buy any contacts. When he passed by the windows, he saw his reflection, a glasses wearing idol face.

 _"You look rather cool with your glasses on."_

 _"Glasses definitely suits you!"_

He sighed a little as he carries on walking, looking for the spectacles shop.

After purchasing new contacts, he went back to his dorm to study. He can tell already that Junpei is definitely going to flunk his midterms, considering the procrastination he has been doing over the past few days. When he finished studying and revising all he can, he went to bed.

…

The next morning, he bumped into Minako and Mitsuru by the school gate. "Morning." He greeted the two.

"Good morning." Mitsuru greeted, "Exams begin next week. Are you prepared?"

"Of course." Minako stated.

"That's good to hear." He stated.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing your grades…" The student council president chuckles, "If they're good, I'll give you something… consider it a reward."

"But don't expect them to part of the top ten grades of their grade." He tells her, "Minako, don't study too hard. It's a good idea to rest when you need to."

"Like Junpei?" Minako chuckles.

"…No, if you do that, you can forget about moving up a grade… or graduating at that matter…"

"To be honest, I'm not as prepared as I should be." Mitsuru stated, "I'm still preoccupied with monitoring Shadows. At any rate, the number of incidents has decreased since our last mission. If we can continue to defeat them, we may be able to rid the public of their fear…"

"Will we…?" He muttered.

"However, every time a new Shadow appears, it seems to be more powerful than the last…" Mitsuru stated, "And even after Akihiko returns to battle, we still won't be at full strength…"

"You shouldn't worry too much now, Mitsuru." Tsukiyo sighed, "When it comes to that, then we'll worry about it."

…

After school, he made it back to the dorms to read up on some books. When some of the juniors came back, they saw him sitting down by the sofa reading a book in his hand, the same pair of glasses perched on his nose.

Junpei blinked a bit, "Nice pair of glasses, Tsukiyo-san." He stated.

"Y-Yeah…" Yukari muttered.

"You wear them in the dorms too?" Minako asked.

"…" His eyes then rolled up, looking at the three teens looking at him, "Is there something you need?"

"Did you…hear us just now?" Junpei asked.

"Hear what?"

"…He's really into his books huh…" He muttered, "But the glasses thing is new. I didn't know you wear glasses, Tsukiyo-san."

"I hardly wear them outside. It became a pain when I do…" Tsukiyo groaned.

"Really? I sure don't think so." Yukari stated.

"I'm back." Mitsuru greeted as she came in through the front door, "Oh, I see you're wearing glasses today, Tsukiyo."

"Welcome back, Mitsuru." He greeted her.

"Welcome back, senpai." Yukari greeted.

Minako turned to the teen reading his book, Tsukiyo flipped to another page. "You really do love books." She commented.

"…" He carries on reading.

"He definitely does…" Junpei muttered, "I still can't see the link here. He's a bookworm, yet a prodigy kendo practitioner at the same time. Besides Mitsuru-senpai, I don't think I have seen anyone capable of finding a balance between the two until now…"

"I believe it is called time management." Yukari deadpanned, "Use it sometimes, Stupei."

"PFT!"

They turned around when they hear a small chuckle. Tsukiyo sat there with a stone-cold expression as usual reading his book. Minako glanced at him with a knowing smirk on her face.

"What's with that face, Minako?" Yukari asked.

"Oh, nothing~"

"…"

…

The next couple of days were pretty uneventful. He went to school, bumped into Akihiko who was training again since his cast is ready to come off soon, end school and then return back to the dorm to study a bit.

On the weekend, mostly stayed in his room to study up some more, coming out to buy lunch and dinner. At night, he definitely heard Junpei shouting out complains from his room, something that he really don't want to hear the day before the exams.

After a while, he had enough and brought all his stuff to the lounge in hopes of studying without interruption. Unluckily, Ikutsuki is there and he ended up trying to study with him staring down at him over his shoulder.

…

The days from the 18 to the 23 are exam days, so everyone is busy with their own tests. Tsukiyo crammed as much as he can over the weekends and the hours before, so he felt confident.

On the 23rd, he bumped into Akihiko and Minako at the school entrance.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Morning." Akihiko greeted back.

"Good morning, senpais!" Minako greeted them.

"Today's the last day…" Tsukiyo stated, "Hey, Akihiko, confident that you'll pass?"

"Heh, it was no sweat." The boxer smirked, "I'm definitely acing this one. Although, I'm worried about mathematics though…"

"I'm more worried about my classic lit…" He muttered, "What about you, Minako?"

"I'm okay!" She stated with a smile.

"That's good to hear." Akihiko chuckled, "By the way, I've a check-up after school today. If the doctor checks out okay, I'll be able to fight with you guys again… finally."

"That's great. We could use the additional manpower." Tsukiyo stated.

"Speaking of, Minako, I have a favor to ask." The boxer stated, "You've been doing a good job leading the team in Tartarus… would you mind continuing after I come back? That way, I can concentrate on building my strength."

"Hey, hey, is that a good idea?" Tsukiyo stated, "Minako, you don't have to-"

"Leave it to me!" She stated with a hand to her chest.

"…" He sighed, already mentally tired from this, "I'm heading to class."

…

Exams are finally over, Tsukiyo stretched his back and shoulders, tired from the mental battle of texts. "Hey, Tsukiyo." Mitsuru walks up to his desk, "So, how do you fare?"

"Pretty good, I believe." He stated, "I'm pretty sure I can pass at least."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you got an amazing score." She said with a smile, "You were the top of the grade last year after all."

"I just crammed as much as I could before the exams." He stated, "I'm not like you, the Miss Perfect Student Council President."

"Don't flatter me." Mitsuru chuckles softly.

"…Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Oh? I'm perfectly fine." She assures him.

"…You're slightly nodding off, you know." He tells her, "And you're slightly wobbling around too. Did you… went through a sleepless night again…?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah… Nothing slip pass you, Tsukiyo." She sighed, "But its fine. I'll take a nap back at the dorm later."

"After the Student Council work?" He pointed out, "You better rest at the nurse office first."

"It's fine, I can…" Tsukiyo groaned as he stood up, slinging on his school bag before sweeping Mitsuru off her feet into his arms in a bridal carry, stunning everyone around them, "W-W-Wait, Tsukiyo! Put me down at once!"

"Once we reach the nurse office, Miss President." He stated before taking into a slight jog out of the class. He ignores the looks he was getting from almost every student he ran past or the struggling red head and sped up his pace. They soon reached the nurse office, where the infamous teacher, Mr Edogawa, is sitting.

"Oh, this is a surprise." He stated, "Not really, do you two planned this routine every year?"

"Can't blame me for her not resting when she can." Tsukiyo sighed, "I can't let her fainting in the middle of the corridor, every time after the exams."

"You don't have to bother with me." Mitsuru stated.

"Not when it happens in front of me, almost all the time!" He groaned.

"You two have a quite a strange bond." The teacher commented, "Do you know that-"

"Sorry, but I don't wish to know, Mr Edogawa…" The teen groaned again, before seating down by the chair, "Now, go to sleep, Mitsuru."

"…" She stared at him before shuffling under the covers.

"Good." He sighed before turning to Edogawa, "Mr Edogawa, mind keeping an eye on her? Make sure she stays in bed for at least three hours."

"No problem." The teacher nodded, "I'll try and keep her for four."

"Thank you." He proceed to walk out of the nurse office and ran towards where the student council room is at. Once he told Hidetoshi about Mitsuru's condition, he went to the school store to purchase some drinks for them. When he returned, he notices that she is asleep on the bed.

He sat next to her bed, taking out a book to read.

…

They returned back to the dorm together, Mitsuru went to the student council office right after she woke up and he waited for her all the way. "We're back." He greeted them.

"Ah, welcome back Tsukiyo-san, Mitsuru-senpai." Junpei greeted.

"How was the hospital check-up, Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked.

"Completely healed." Akihiko stated with a smirk, "I can't wait to get back to training. I've slacked off for a whole month."

"Whatever you say." Tsukiyo moaned, "But you might want to take a couple of days off just to be sure."

"By the way, Tsukiyo-san~ I wanted to ask you something." Junpei said grinning, "Are you and Mitsuru-senpai dating?"

"Huh?" He blinked at the surprising question, "No, we're not."

"You sure~? You came back around the same time, and I've seen you carrying her around in school today. In a princess carry no less!" The junior chuckled.

"Woah, this is true?-!" Yukari cried out in surprise.

"N-No! T-That's not…!" Mitsuru cried blushing.

"The nurse office?" Akihiko asked.

"The nurse office." Tsukiyo nodded.

"Nurse office?" Minako asked.

"There isn't anything strange about this anyway." The boxer explained, "It became somewhat of a routine between them. Every time during the final days of the exam, Mitsuru is always carried to the nurse office to rest by Tsukiyo."

"Every time?" Yukari asked.

"I always assures him that I'm fine, but…" Mitsuru stated.

"The previous times you said that, you collapsed right outside the toilet or somewhere along the corridor." Tsukiyo stated.

"At least it is a princess carry." Akihiko stated, "The last time this happens is after last years' finals. He carried her like a sack of potatoes under his arms."

"…That's…um…" Junpei muttered.

"I'll die of embarrassment if that happens to me." Yukari sighed sweat-dropping.

"…" Mitsuru looked down blushing.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention." Akihiko added, "We found a new Persona-user."

"We did?-! Sweet!" Junpei cheered, "Is it a girl…?"

"Actually, it is. She's a junior who goes to our school." He stated.

"Really? Who is it?" Mitsuru asked.

"Fuuka Yamagishi." He explained, Tsukiyo flinched at the name, "Do you guys know her?"

"Yamagishi…? Oh that girl in 2-E." Yukari nodded, "She gets sick a lot, from what I heard… I don't see her at school very often."

"She was at the same hospital as me." The boxer stated, "That's how we found out about her."

"I…see…" Tsukiyo muttered.

"You know her, Tsukiyo-senpai?" Minako asked.

"Bumped into her a few times." He explained, "She seems to be a victim of bullying though… even if she doesn't notice."

"Bullying?-!" Mitsuru cried, "I'll look into this as soon as I'm able!"

"Oh, thanks."

"…Maybe we shouldn't recruit her…" Akihiko stated, "At least… until the whole bullying situation is settled."

"What?-! Really?-! We're giving up on her?-!" Junpei cried, "I was gonna offer her some private lessons…"

"You're like an old perv." Minako pointed out.

"Hahaha! Oh man, I'm always thinking the same thing!" Yukari laughed.

"Yow! Retract those claws ladies!" He cried out, "I'm totally a hip, happenin' teen! You dig?-!"

"No one says like that anymore…" Tsukiyo pointed out.

"W-Why're you lookin' me at like that?" Junpei asked, "C-C'mon… I'm a guy! Whaddya expect?-!"

"…" Tsukiyo looked at him, before sighing.

…

 **There! Next chapter finished! Finally… Sorry if this chapter  
feels rather weak. I was focusing on how to show off Tsukiyo  
character, in forms of Social Link like events.**

 **I too was having trouble in how to show the relationship  
between him and the other seniors as well as towards his  
juniors. I included Fuuka in his character building because  
that girl needs support, especially when in the canon  
storyline, Mitsuru didn't even know that there was a bullying  
going on.**

 **Plus, her shy character troupe works well with Tsukiyo's  
Kuudere personality.**

 **With that, I thank you for reading and please Review!  
Arigatou!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Anger**

They went to Tartarus that night, this time Tsukiyo decided to step down for this mission and allow Akihiko into the party. Now, he stood next to Mitsuru with her radio device active. "I'll try to scan the floors above you, hold on…" She stated before concentrating on the device.

He can see the sweat dripping off her brow as she tries to scan the tower, "…It's no use… Sorry, I can't get a clear reading. I may have reached the limit of my ability…" She tells the group, "Sorry, but can you continue to the next floor?"

 _[Understood]_ Minako replied back.

Mitsuru sighed as she wiped the sweat off her brow. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, this is the best I can do for now, anyway." She sighed, "But, the Shadows' numbers are increasing… They are getting stronger too… We need to find a more effective way of defeating them…"

"…" He kneeled down next to her, "Mind if I try out something?"

"Huh? What is it?" Tsukiyo placed his hand on the device. And then he closed his eyes and concentrated. "Hey, can any of you hear me?"

 _[Huh? Tsukiyo-san?]_ _Junpei replied._

 _[Tsukiyo, how are you able…?] Akihiko asked._

"I thought I might be able to do this…" He stated, "On those times when we approached the guardians, I felt their presence for some reason. By the way, I sensed one of them somewhere above where you guys are."

 _[Can you tell where?] Minako asked._

"No, I can't really make out the proper location." He stated out, "Make sure to keep your guard up."

 _[Understood.] She replied._

"…To think that you possesses the same type of Persona as me…" Mitsuru stated in surprise, "Is this why you choose not to go to the frontline tonight? To test out your theory?"

"That's one of the reasons." He stated, "Another is that I'm not in the mood to go dungeon-crawling tonight…"

"So…you got lazy then…" She stated, "*chuckles* That's just like you."

After a while, they manage to reach to the guardian's floor, Tsukiyo can sense it as he took over Mitsuru's point for the moment. He can't really tell what's going on, but he can tell it was a tough fight. "Its Arcana is Empress! Be careful, it's a strong one!"

He didn't know what went down in the fight, but they manages to win and made it to the second blockade.

 _[It's a dead end.] Akihiko stated._

"I see… Come back to the entrance. Good job making it so far." He stated.

 _[Also, we found a strange document here.] Yukari stated._

"Really?" He asked, 'Is the same as the previous one…?' "What's on it?"

 _[Huh? Oh, um…]_ She starts reading it out, _[Let's see…: {Weird… Kirijo's Ergo Research branch plans to build a lab on this island. I wonder what for…} that's all. But… Ergo Research?]_

'Could it be that lab that Mitsuru told me about…?' He thought.

 _[Tsukiyo-san? You there?]_ Junpei called out.

"Oh! Y-Yeah, just thinking about something." He tells them, "Let's hurry up and head back, the Dark Hour is almost over."

 _[Yikes! Don't remind me!]_

After a while, they came back to the entrance and they left Tartarus for the dorm.

…

The weekend move passed faster than Tsukiyo could imagine. When school week starts again, he check out the exam results by the corridor. 'Looks like my grades are just as average…' He thought, "Oh, Mitsuru's the top of her grade, as usual. And Akihiko…?" He checked the list once more, "Huh… I'm actually higher than him…"

After school, since Mitsuru has duties at the Student Council, he returns to the dorm on his own.

The past few days have been a blur, mostly he just stayed by the tree after school to read up his textbooks and a few books he bought during the weekend.

However, during one of these days, he was just sitting at his seat in his classroom reading his book, when he heard someone talking.

"Hey, did you hear?"

"Huh? About what?"

"A girl of class 2-E went missing."

"Wait, for real?-!"

"Oh please, that is just another baseless rumor…"

"Not just that, I've heard another girl of the same class was found unconsciousness outside the school gate this morning!"

"Oh yeah, I've heard of it when I came to school. She is still unconscious now, isn't she?"

"Dude, that is just crazy… What's going on with this school this year?-!"

'2-E…' Tsukiyo thought, 'Isn't that the same class as Fuuka Yamagishi…?'

…

A couple days later, the rumors are already spreading all over, even some crazy ghost story about one of the missing girls supposedly to be dead and her ghost haunts the school, getting revenge of the bullies that caused her 'death'.

Tsukiyo was getting worried as well. He hasn't seen Fuuka in days and that girl falling unconscious the day before is causing him to make an assumption that he didn't want to.

One night, in the lounge at the dorm where everyone has gathered for dinner. It was the start of June and the change of uniforms into their summer counterparts. Everyone is their one version of their summer uniform, usually the short-sleeved version or just the standard short-sleeved uniform shirt.

"Hey Yuka-tan, have you seen the posts on the students message board?" Junpei asked her, "You know how last week, that girl was found by the front gate? Well, there's this rumor that it was an angry spirit from this one ghost story."

"H-Hey! C-C'mon… nobody believes in that stuff?-!" Yukari cried out, "R-Right…?"

"So, what is this ghost story about?" Mitsuru asked.

"Wha-?-! It-It's probably made up… So why bother?-!"

"I'm interested. Go ahead and tell us." Akihiko stated.

"Same here." Tsukiyo added.

"Uh…"

Junpei leaned forward, pulling out a flashlight who-knows-where and shines it under his face (Anime Law 37, everyone!), "Good evening. Welcome, to [Junpei's Believe It, or Don't]… There are many strange things in this world… According to one story… 'If you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls!"

'Huh…' Tsukiyo thought.

"This other day, this friend of mine… let's call him Shu…" He continued, "He said to me, "Junpei, I saw something strange." He sounded serious, so I asked him what he'd seen. He said it was about the girl in 2-E…He claims he saw her go into the school on the night of the incident. I could not believe. She's not the kind of girl to be out at night…"

"But Shu was as white as a sheet. He insisted it was true… Then, it hit me… That ghost must've tried to make her its dinner! And that's why they found her lying on the ground by the gate! I felt a chill run down my spine, and I broke into a cold sweat… Yes, there are strange things in this world… Believe it…or Don't~!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…What do you think, Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked.

"Huh…? Not one word about my frankly amazing performance just now…?" Junpei asked.

"I think it's worth investigating." Akihiko stated.

"…" Tsukiyo remained silent, completely in a daze.

Junpei then notices Yukari shaking slightly, "Wow, I didn't know you were afraid of ghosts, Yuka-tan. That's kinda funny."

"Hey, watch it!" She cried out, "…F-Fine, then let's investigate. We'll each ask around for the rest of the week. I'll prove to you that the ghost story is just an urban legend!"

"I appreciate that. That story is a bit unnerving…" Mitsuru stated, her face a bit pale.

"Huh…?"

Akihiko then notices his friend in a daze, "Tsukiyo, you okay?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry about that." He stated, "I was thinking about something…"

"…Know any that could triumphs this one?"

"Lots, but I'll rather not state any." Tsukiyo stated as he got up from his seat, "…But I'll consider sleeping with one eye opened tonight. I've heard stories like these can attract the ghosts."

"W-Wha-You just messing with me, Amagi-senpai…!" Yukari dryly laughed, "…R-Right…?"

"Who knows…?" He sighed before heading upstairs, "I'm going to bed. Night."

"Oh, good night, senpai." Junpei greeted as the senior disappears up the stairs. "…Is it just me, or has he been spacing out the past few days?"

"He was always thinking about something every time I came home as well…" Yukari stated.

"I'm sure he has a lot of things to worry about." Mitsuru stated.

"But I think you better keep his advice to mind." Akihiko stated, "He's pretty accurate when it comes to occult stuff."

…

The past week flew passed him quite quickly. He decided to investigate this rumor, trying to find out where it originates from. Checking around the school websites and forums, he barely were able to short-list the amount of people that could spread it. But talking to them wasn't enough, although he did get some nice ghost stories from it.

He then checked with the class roster of 2-E, that he asked Mitsuru to help him gather since he doesn't trust Ekoda. 'He is definitely hiding something… But my priority is this rumor.' With it, he found the name of the girl that was found outside the school. Sadly, the roster didn't come with the picture so he can't confirm his suspicions.

'A dead end…' He sighed, 'But Fuuka is missing too… I was afraid of this…"

Friday arrives, and the juniors all gathered at the lounge to share any information gained. Tsukiyo was coming down the stairs when he heard them talking, and he hid atop the steps to he listened on their conversation.

"Okay, as we agreed on Monday, we'll now hold a meeting to discuss what we learned." Yukari announced.

"Wow, you're really into this…" Junpei stated in surprise.

"Of course. I got lots of good info." Yukari stated, "It turns out no angry ghosts were involved."

"Tsukiyo-san really spooked you good, huh?" Junpei chuckled.

"N-No! That's not why!" She cried, "Hmph. To start, let's talk about how this rumor got started… Since the girl was found on school grounds, there's at least one similarity to the ghost story. But, why did the rumor spread so fast, if this was the first time anything happened?"

"It was the third time!" Minako cried.

"Correct!" She stated, "But yeah, I was surprised when I found out the reason… Over the next few days, there were two more similar incidents. All three victims had to be hospitalized. No wonder people were talking. Next, the victims are in different classes, and they don't seem to be connected. However, they did have one thing in common. What was it?"

"What is this, a quiz show? Do you know, Minako?" Junpei asked.

"They hung out together!" She stated.

"Yup, that's right!" Yukari said, "Not just once or twice, either. They got in with a bad crowd, and were always hanging out late. It can't be just a coincidence… so, to find out what happened, we're gonna do some field research."

"Field research? Are you kidding?" Junpei looked at her in shock.

"Yeah, there's this one place where the three victims were regulars."

"Wait, y-you're not talking about that place behind Port Island Station, are you…?"

"Oh, so you're familiar with it?" She asked. He flinched a little, "Are you nuts?-! That place is dangerous! I've heard many nasty rumors about that place!"

"Is that so? Well then, we should all go together." Yukari stated turning to Minako, "You'll come, right?"

"Of course!" She stated.

"Thanks!"

"Forget it… that place is bad news, man!" Junpei cried, "Aren't you getting way over your head with this?"

"Up to now, all we've done is take others." Yukari said, "Does that feel right to you?"

"W-Well… I know what you mean, but…" He muttered, "Man, did you have to say it like that? I guess I don't have a choice, do I…?"

"Okay, we'll go tomorrow night, then." Yukari tells them.

Tsukiyo remained up the stairs, looking at the three juniors. 'Those three… Takeba is going to get them killed… She really have some issues…' He then yawned, 'I'll deal with them tomorrow… Now is time for bed…'

…

The next day, Tsukiyo checked with the missing girls' profile using Mitsuru's authority to get their pictures at best. 'I can't believe I didn't think of this in the first place… I need to keep my head out for more rumors next time…'

When he saw their profile pictures, he knew exactly who they are. They are the group of bullies picking on Fuuka.

'Looks like my intuition was correct…' He thought as he exited his classroom between periods. He knew what he need to do.

He made it to the classroom of Natsuki Moriyama, the girl was easiest to find as he just asked around about a junior with ganguro make-up, catching her just as she was leaving her classroom. He notices her pale complexion despite the thick tan make-up, and her eyes always looking around, paranoia at its fullest.

'She definitely knows something.'

"Natsuki Moriyama!" He called out, the girl jumped a little in shock, turning towards him in shock, "I've been looking for you."

"H-Huh? A-Aren't you…?"

"I wanted to know what happened the week before." He tells her, "And, what happened to Fuuka last week."

"Ah! I-I…!"

"The three girls in the hospitals… they are your buddies, right?" He asked, "And you are picking on another girl, Fuuka Yamagishi. She has been missing for more than week now, the same day the first incident happened. You guys did something, right?"

"N-No…! It's not…!"

"Tsukiyo Amagi-kun, stop pestering your junior at once!"

He stopped when he saw Ekoda walking towards them.

"M-Mr. Ekoda…" Natsuki muttered in relief.

"I do not care what reasons you have, I will not appreciate you bothering my student." He stated angrily, "Need I remind you of your past records?"

"…" Tsukiyo looked at him, before sighing, "Fine…" He walked away, leaving the two of them at the corridor. 'So Ekoda and Natsuki are connected… That means that the thing that Ekoda is hiding is…'

He spend the rest of the day trying to figure this out, and soon school was out and evening came.

…

Tsukiyo left before the three juniors got back, heading towards the back alley of Tatsumi Port Island. The sun has set for the past hour, the several delinquents all there just chatting and smoking. He changed into his casual wear for the summer, a simple grey t-shirt with navy-blue jeans and brown sandals, in order to blend in with them.

He looked around, before finding the persona he was looking for. Walking towards him, he leaned down by the wall facing him, "Hey, Shinjirou."

The tall teen looked at him coldly, the post-teen male with steel cold grey eyes, dark shaggy hair covered by a black beanie with a metal plate in the front wearing a dark red coat covering his entire body except his legs showing the black pants and shoes.

"What do you want, Tsukiyo?" He gruffly asked.

"Just to say hi." He stated, before taking out a photo, "And to check with something. You hang out here often, right? Do you know this girl?"

The taller male looked at the photo presented, "Hm… I think I did saw her once… hanging out with few others. Why? Did you need something from her?"

"Shinjirou, did you hear them brag about something when they were here?" He asked him, "Or about someone?"

"…Is this about that incident in school I heard about…?" He asked, getting a nod, "Well…"

"Hey, you!" They heard one of the ruffians shouted out, turning their attention to find what Tsukiyo wasn't hoping to see.

Minako, Yukari and Junpei all stood there in their summer uniform confronting one of the many ruffians in the alleyway.

"Aren't they…?" The taller male wonders.

"I was hoping for Junpei to talk them out of this…" Tsukiyo groaned.

"You know them?" Shinjirou asked.

"They are the juniors of SEES." He stated, he noticing the tall male flinched a little at the last word, "Yes, I know about SEES, and I know that you were once part of it. Akihiko and Mitsuru told me once."

"Tch…" He turned his attention to the three younger teens, "I think they are in trouble." He pointed out, Junpei already fallen on the ground grunting in pain.

"…" He sighed before walking up towards them, "Hey, that's enough." He stated firmly as he walked up towards them, "They just made a wrong turn and ended up here. I'll tell them to leave right away, so leave them be."

"Huh? Who do you think you are, dumbass?-!" The punk shouted as he walked up to him all cocky, "You want some too?-!" He punches him, Tsukiyo took it to his forehead hard, causing him to stumble back a little, "Ha! Take that, punk!"

"That hurts…" The senior grunted, his hand on his face as his eyes glare down at them.

"H-Huh?"

"I said that FUCKING HURTS!" He punches the guy in the face so hard that his nose broke under his fist, he fell down on the ground hard clutching his broken nose.

"S-Shit! Y-You just crossed the line!" The punk shouted, "You think you're going home alive?-!"

Tsukiyo picked up a broken metal pipe on the ground, swinging it down on the floor hard it making a loud ring, "You want try me, IS IT?-! HUH?-!"

"Uh… S-Screw this!" He shouted as he stepped back.

"Hahaha! What a loser!" One of the female punks in the alley laughed.

"D-Damn you…!" One of the other punks shouted, "You're Shinjirou's friend, aren't you! That means you're from Gekkou High too!"

"You better grow eyes in the back of your head!" That punk shouted, Tsukiyo glared at them as he smashed the pipe on the wall hard, denting the pipe slightly startling the punks before they ran off scared.

Tsukiyo took deep breaths as he tossed the pipe aside, "…"

"Oh man… Senpai, that was awesome!" Junpei cheered, "I guess even the punks on the street know to fear THE Gekkoukan Samurai~!"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT, ASSHOLE!" The senior shouted, startling the three juniors. He then realized what he did and turned away from them, "S-Sorry… I… I just…"

"You lost your temper there, Tsukiyo." Shinjirou stated as he walked up to them, "Aren't you guys those guys in Aki's room at the hospital that day? You are a bunch of idiots! Get out of here. This place isn't for you."

"Wait! We came here for a reason!" Yukari cried.

"That doesn't mean you should take this risk." Tsukiyo tells them, his emotions now in check, "Takeba, you're smarter than this. But you are an idiot this time. Junpei is smarter than you when he warned you. You should have listened to him."

"W-Wha-! You're joking, right?" She said.

"And Minako. You're the leader, aren't you?" He added, "You shouldn't have agreed to this plan at all. That's a terrible idea at all. You should have stopped them when they brought it up last night."

"I'm sorry…" She apologized.

"Wait, how do you know we thought of this last night?" He asked.

"I've overheard you talking." He tells them.

"You spied on us?-!" Yukari cried.

"Overheard." He tells her, "There's a difference."

"Y-Yeah! B-But…"

"L-Let's focus on the goal at hand, shall we…?" Junpei tells them, "Say… why are you here of all places, Tsukiyo-san?"

"I was asking Shinjirou about the girls that were hospitalized." He tells them, "So, Shinjirou, before you were interrupted…?"

"Yeah. Those girls were always here talking shit every night." He stated, "Bragging about the things they done to a girl named Fuuka."

"Fuuka…?" Junpei wonders, "You mean Fuuka Yamagishi, from 2-E? They were picking on her?"

"Looks like I was right on that." Tsukiyo stated.

"That's why people are saying that it's Fuuka's spirit in that ghost story, the one that caused those girls to be hospitalized." Shinjirou added.

"Fuuka's spirit…? Wait, what do you mean by that?-!" Yukari cried.

"Fuuka Yamagishi has been missing from home for more than a week now, ever since the first incident." The shorter senior explained, "I've checked with her house a couple of days ago, so it's true."

"People are saying that she might be dead…" The taller senior added.

"Are you serious?-!" Junpei cried, "I thought she was out sick… But, she's missing?-!"

"So much for the ghost story…" Yukari stated, "Mr. Ekoda is the homeroom teacher of class 2-E, right? Does he know about this…?"

"I think he do." Tsukiyo stated, "I've checked with the last of the girls in the group, Natsuki Moriyama of the same class, this morning. He stopped me from questioning her any further. Not just that, she was acting rather paranoid."

"I guess we know who our next target is." Minako stated. "Thanks for the info, senpai."

"…I did nothing." Shinjirou muttered.

"Um, thank you very much." Yukari thanked him, before turning to Tsukiyo, "And… uh… thank you too, Amagi-senpai… For saving us back there…"

"But… Man, you were terrifying…" Junpei stated out.

"Yeah… I'm… truly sorry about that…" Tsukiyo muttered, "That was something I didn't want to show to anyone…"

"No, uh…"

"Let's head back to the dorms for now." Minako tells them.

"Yeah, let's." He stated, "I need to cool off my head…"

…

The next morning, Tsukiyo remained in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His mind thought back to last night, about that one slip of his anger at the delinquents at the alley.

'I just revert back… Just like that…' He thought, 'I thought I have that under control… yet I…'

Someone knocked on the door loudly, getting his attention, "Tsukiyo, you up?"

"Akihiko?" He opened up the door, the boxing captain indeed in front of him.

"You free today?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" He asked.

"Well, the morning is still early." He stated, "Want to take a jog with me?"

"You want me to jog with you?" Tsukiyo stated, "No, not going to happen."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I've seen your training regimes." He stated, "I am not willing to take my chances with it…"

"Relax, I'm not going to go too far." Akihiko stated, "We're just going to jog across the bridge and around Tatsumi Port Island couple times before heading back to the dorm."

"…That's close to an entire marathon, Akihiko…" He muttered.

"Well, you in or not?" The boxer asked.

"…" He sighed, "Very well… I need to burn off some steam anyway…"

"Great! I'll see you downstairs." He tells him as he ran down the stairs.

"…It's at least better than staying in my room all day…" He muttered as he took his clothes and went to the bathroom. After finding out about the CCTV system, he refuses to change in his room at all in fear of being filmed by people.

He changed into a more sports-like attire, white sweatshirt with grey shorts and meet Akihiko downstairs, him in a similar attire as they ran out of the dorm.

Tsukiyo could manage to keep up Akihiko all the way in the jog, almost falling behind which prompts his friend to slow down for him a few times. They took a break at a park on Tatsumi Port Island, the ex-Kendo member tossing a bottle of water to the boxer who catches it and opening the drink.

"It's been a while I've jog around like this…" Tsukiyo panted as he opens his bottle.

"You need to exercise more, Tsukiyo." Akihiko chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered as he drank his bottled water.

The boxer stood up from the bench, "You know, Shinji texted me last night."

"Hm? Shinjirou did?" Tsukiyo asked, "About what?"

"About you, apparently…" He stated, "He stated something about you almost getting in a fight, and want me to help you with something…"

"…Is that why you asked me out for a jog?" His friend asked.

"Think of it more like bonding between men." Akihiko said, "Sure we're not close friends, but we know each other for the past three years. And we're part of the sports group at one point."

"That's true…" He muttered.

"You know… Shinji mentioned something about your anger." The boxer stated.

"Ah yeah, that was a thing." Tsukiyo muttered, "But you guys have probably read through my files before you came to recruit me, right?"

"Nothing get by you, huh?" Akihiko chuckled, "Yeah, we read it. We know about your anger management issues."

"Then you also know why I transferred here in the first place." He stated as he stood up, "…Last night, I nearly walked down that path again. I've almost return to what I wanted to avoid becoming…"

"But you stopped, didn't you?" The boxer added, "If what the files says are true, that mean you didn't went back. You're not what that thing in the files says you are!"

"I lost my temper when he punched me." Tsukiyo muttered, "I even broke his nose…"

"Anyone will!" Akihiko cried.

"Then I threatened to hurt everyone there with a pipe!" He shouted, "That's something a gang member would do!"

"That does not mean…!"

"I WAS WILLING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYONE!" The ex-kendo member shouted back at him, huffing and panting a little. The boxer looked at him startled, his friend sighed as he sat down on the bench with his face on his hands, "I'm… really sorry… it's just…"

"You have a lot in your mind, huh?" Akihiko asked, he nodded in response, "Tsukiyo, you remember what you told me the first day of the semester? That's the same for me as well. If you ever need help, or someone to lean on, you can look for me. I doubt Mitsuru is capable of lending a shoulder to anyone."

"…Thanks."

After their run, they went back to the dorm.

…

The next day, Tsukiyo received a text from Mitsuru, telling him to meet her at the student council's room. Arriving at the appointed location, the red-haired student council president is there. "Ah, you made it, Tsukiyo." She greeted.

"So let me guess, you're going to grill Ekoda for answers." He stated.

"Exactly." She nodded, "If there is one person who knows about Fuuka Yamagishi's disappearance, it has to be her homeroom teacher, Mr. Ekoda."

"…No, there's one more." He pointed out to her, "Her classmate, Natsuki Moriyama. She's part of the group that harassed Fuuka since the start of the term, the same group of girls that landed in the hospital over the past week."

"You think she might know the reason?" Mitsuru asked.

"Not completely, but we could use her to get answers out of Ekoda." He stated, "He was basically hiding the fact that Fuuka was missing this whole time."

"I see. So I guess we better look for her." She pointed out.

"Indeed…" Tsukiyo nodded, "Let's start with her classroom, Class 2-E."

They made it to the classroom, Mitsuru entered and asked one of the students there for Natsuki, "Oh, Moriyama-san isn't here. Mr. Ekoda asked her to go with him after homeroom to the faculty office."

"What? Why?" She asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's about Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Mitsuru, let's head to the faculty office." Tsukiyo tells her, "This is what we need to corner Ekoda."

"Good idea." She nodded. They bid farewell to the student and took to the faculty office. Once they made it, they overhear Natsuki asking Ekoda about news on Fuuka, the man stated that there's none but assures her that they will keep looking and tells her not to say a word of this to anyone and the authorities.

"I was right… He is hiding the fact that Fuuka is missing…!" He stated.

"Indeed, leave the rest to me." She tells him, "I'll handle the questioning." He nodded and the two entered the room, "Mr. Ekoda, may I have a word with you?"

"O-Oh, then I-I shall…"

"Natsuki Moriyama, we wish to ask you as well." She added, startling the second-year student, prompting her to sit back down on the chair.

At this moment, the door opened once again, Yukari, Minako and Junpei walked into the office, "Oh, Mitsuru-senpai, Amagi-senpai." Yukari greeted, "Why are you here?"

"Same reason as you." Mitsuru tells her, "Mr. Ekoda, I'm here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi."

"N-No!" Natsuki cried out, "I-I… never thought it'd turn out like this… Fuuka…"

"Wait, you're that girl…" Yukari pointed out.

"Who?" Minako asked.

"She's part of the group of girls I saw last week, the ones that are sent to the hospital." She explained.

"What did you do to Yamagishi?" Mitsuru asked.

"Hold on, Mitsuru. This isn't an interrogation." Ekoda tells her, before glaring at Tsukiyo a little, "Natsuki, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

"But it's best to come clean." Tsukiyo interjected, "If you keep quiet, we won't be able to help you."

"Quiet, Tsukiyo! I'm still not happy with your interrogation of her last week!" The teacher stated firmly.

"F-Fuuka… she…" Natsuki muttered, "She always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time… then I realized… she's an honor student, but deep inside, she's just the same as us. I knew exactly which buttons to push…"

'Harassment…' Tsukiyo thought angrily.

"W-We were just messing with her that day too!" She cried out, "May 29th… we took Fuuka to the gym… and locked the door from the outside…"

"What?-! You locked her in?-!" Junpei cried out, Mitsuru putting a hand up gesturing him to control himself.

"That night, Maki returned to the school alone." Natsuki added, "She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide."

"But she never returned, and was found next morning unconscious by the gate." Tsukiyo concluded.

"I-I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door is still locked… So I opened it and went inside, but she wasn't there…" She continued, "We all freaked out! Starting that night, we all went out looking for her. But every night, another one of us went missing… and they each ended up like Maki!"

"I see…" Mitsuru muttered, "By the way, Mr. Ekoda… All this time, you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to 'illness'. But in reality, she was missing. You must have been aware of that. What was your intentions?"

"I was thinking of the students, of course." The teacher explained, "You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected."

"In other words, you chose not to do anything to save your own ass." Tsukiyo growled.

"Do not misinterpret my words!" Ekoda shouted, "I did it with their best interests in mind! I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree!"

The senior glared at him turning to the teacher with fists clenched, "To protect your career, you are willing to sacrifice your students." He stated out, "This is more than just their reputation! One of them could actually be dead! If that happens, how are you going to answer for that?-!"

"I don't think you have any right to say that, Tsukiyo Amagi." Ekoda stated, "Need I remind you of your records? Do wish to add insulting the teacher into it, do you?"

"Grr…" Tsukiyo growled, "If I could, I'll…"

"Tsukiyo, that's enough." Mitsuru stated out, "Mr. Ekoda, for failing your responsibilities as a member of the teaching staff, you will be punished."

"W-Wha- I-I was just…" The teacher stuttered out.

She then turned to Natsuki, "About your friends… did you notice anything unusual before the incidents? Anything at all?"

Natsuki thought for a moment, before realizing, "They all heard a voice… A creepy voice… Right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name."

"Oh, man…" Junpei muttered.

"Senpai, could it be…?-!" Yukari cried as the two seniors walked up to them to avoid getting heard by the teacher and Natsuki.

"It's them… no doubt about it." Mitsuru stated, "Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour… But it's the voice; it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize… they're clearly targeting humans. Shadows are the enemy of mankind."

"If considering the past incidents to mind…" Tsukiyo muttered, before turning to Natsuki, "Natsuki, you better stay in our dorm tonight. It's the safest place."

"I agree." Mitsuru nodded, "If you hear the voice, tells us immediately. And don't leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much, you should be okay."

"W-What about…"

"Leave Fuuka to us." He assures her, "Don't worry, she'll be alright. We'll make certain of that."

The girl nodded, "Fuuka…"

"Arisato. Iori and Takeba too." Mitsuru stated out, "We'll meet after school in the student council room to discuss tonight's operation."

"T-Tonight?-!" Junpei cried.

"We're going to rescue Yamagishi. If my guess is right, she's still in the school." She explained.

"U-Understood!" Yukari nodded.

…

After school ended, all the active members of SEES gathered at the student council room to await their briefing. Every one of them has a stern face, "Tonight, we will infiltrate the campus." Mitsuru explains to them, "Our objective is to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Um… I don't get it. Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?" Junpei asked.

"Think about it." Tsukiyo explained, "Ten days ago, Fuuka was locked in the gym by Natsuki Moriyama and her friends. The next morning, she was gone. In between the time frame, something happened to caused her to disappear from the school entirely."

"Something happened…?" Minako wonders.

Yukari wonders, "Well… at midnight, this place turns into…! You don't mean…!"

"Exactly." He nodded, "She probably wandered into Tartarus since that night."

"H-Hold on, that ten days ago!" Junpei stated out, "That would mean…"

"Not necessarily." Akihiko stated, "We can't just to conclusions. Tartarus only appeared during the Dark Hour. So, what about the rest of the day?"

"Now that you mention it…" Yukari muttered.

"This is only a theory, but I think time may function differently with respect to Tartarus." Akihiko stated, "So, even though it's been ten days for us, perhaps only ten hours have passed for her. It's possible that she's alive."

"Wow, you think so?-!" Junpei cried, "Uh, but… the Dark Hour is pretty brutal… We barely handle an hour; how is she gonna last ten?-!"

"That's true…" Yukari agreed, "And, even if she is alive, we might not be able to get to her…"

"So you're going to let her die, is that it?-!" Tsukiyo cried out angrily, shocking those present, "I have a theory. If we use the gym, we can enter Tartarus the same way Fuuka did, probably close to where she is at. That's our best short in saving her."

"Is that even going to work…?" Yukari asked.

"Honestly, I have my reservations." Mitsuru stated, "If something goes wrong, you could all end up lost in Tartarus too. But…"

"If there's a small chance that we could save her, I'm taking it." Tsukiyo stated firmly, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let her die without at least tried to save her…"

"…I'm with Tsukiyo on this." Akihiko stated, "I'd never forgive myself if we didn't try."

"Senpai…?" Yukari was stunned by how determined her two seniors are.

"…Alright." Mitsuru sighed, "We're aware of the risks, but we can't just leave her there."

"I agree." The archer nodded, "And we won't know until we try."

"Cool! We get to sneak into the school!" Junpei cheered, "Heheh… In that case, I know just what to do~"

"Huh…?"

…

 **There, done! Just before the Emperor and Empress operation! Man, I have trouble working on this. After the encounter with Shinjirou, I have no idea who to write with Tsukiyo. I was thinking of making this more like a social link event, but I wanted to start Tsukiyo Social Link event after they rescue Fuuka, but before the Lovers Operation.**

 **And so, we get bromance between two male seniors!**

 **I originally wanted it to be Mitsuru, but re-considering, their relationship is more or less common friends. There is no reason for her to ask him to hang-out. Even canonically, her Social-Link is active at the last portions of the game.**

 **With that, I thank you for reading and please Review!  
Arigatou!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Emperor and Empress**

At the Dormitory's Command Center that night, everyone is raring to go with their equipment ready and on stand-by, but Mitsuru is having trouble getting the proper authorization from the proper personnel, "This is a bit worrisome… I can't get ahold of the Chairman."

"I guess we have to handle it ourselves." Yukari stated.

"There's one problem, though…" Mitsuru muttered, "Without the Chairman's help, I'm not sure how we can get inside the school…"

"You're an honor student, through and through, Mitsuru…" Tsukiyo sighed, "We can just climb over the fence and walls-"

"No need to worry too much, my beloved senpais~" Junpei chuckles, "I've got it all set to go."

"Set to go…?" Mitsuru wonders, "An explosive? *chuckle* Alright, I'll let you handle this."

"…" Tsukiyo face-palmed at this.

"We won't have time to waste. Let's go." Akihiko stated, and they walked out of the room. Yukari walked close to Junpei, "…An explosive, for real…?" She whispered,

"…Nah… All I did was unlock a door…"

…

Apparently, Junpei has unlocked the emergency exit on the second floor beforehand, allowing them to access into the school with ease. "See? We got in no problem." He chuckled, "Man, I'm a genius!"

"Is that really something to brag about…?" Yukari muttered.

"So, you unlocked it earlier…" Mitsuru nodded in delight, "Tres bien!"

"Oui, oui…" Tsukiyo groaned shaking his head.

"No time for compliments. Let's go." Akihiko tells them.

"What's the big deal, anyway…?" Yukari wonders as they carried on forward.

"…Tray Ben…?" Junpei blinked, "What's that, French? Lousy seniors and their lousy French…"

…

After that, they made it to classroom 2-F, the juniors' class to plan their next move. "Can we turn on the lights…?" Yukari asked.

"Aww… you scared~?" Junpei teased.

"No!" Yukari cried out, "…Stupei…"

"Stop calling me that!" Junpei cried out.

"Stop bickering…!" Tsukiyo whispered/shouted, "And I don't think we can turn on the lights. I've tried it just now."

"The power to the school is cut in the night, after all." Akihiko explained to him.

"Ah, that make sense…"

"I don't like sneaking around like this…" She muttered.

"First, we have to find the key to the gym." Mitsuru briefed them, "We'll split up into two groups and meet in the main hallway on the first floor. Understood?"

"The Faculty Office, huh…?" Junpei chuckled, "Heh, maybe we'll find some test questions! Heheh~!"

"Iori, choice of words." Tsukiyo pointed out sternly, "Remember, Mitsuru is here."

"A-Ah! T-That was a joke! Hahahaha…" He chuckled nervously, "I'd never do such an unscrupulous thing…"

"…" He sighed.

"…Perhaps I'd best take Iori with me to the janitor's room…" Mitsuru sighed, "Arisato, head to the faculty office. I leave it to you who to take along with you."

"Okay…" She thought for a moment, "I'll go with Akihiko-senpai."

"In that case, I'll tag along." Tsukiyo stated.

"Very well." The senior nodded, "Then Takeba will accompany us to the janitor's room. We'll meet back up in the main hallway."

He proceed to head down the stairs with Minako and Akihiko, and he saw a light from a corner, "Shit, hide!" He called to them quietly as they tries to hide behind a pillar. Tsukiyo faced outside while Akihiko and Minako squeezed together behind him on the pillar. They held their breaths as the security guard walked passed them lazily, the man yawning as he carried on his patrol.

As soon as he turned the corner, the three of them sighed in relief as Tsukiyo stepped forward to take a short look around, "All clear- Why are you pinning Minako on the pillar?" The two blinked in confusion, before the older teen realized their position and separated while muttered apologizes to each other blushing red.

"That was really close…" Minako sighed in relief, "Hey… will we get arrested for this…?"

"Haha… well… considering that we're sneaking around the faculty offices after hours, we'd at least be expelled." Akihiko joked.

"That's just as bad, Akihiko…" Tsukiyo groaned, "Let's make sure we don't get caught, okay?"

"G-Got it…" Minako chuckled slightly.

They proceed to head to the faculty office, searching around the office for the key to the gym. "Here, I found it! The gym storage key!" Akihiko said happily.

"Wasn't it the gym key ?" Minako pointed out.

"Huh?" He looked at the key again, "I-I see…" He placed the key back and starts rummages through the drawers again.

Tsukiyo checked around the other drawers, "Nope, nope, nope…" He then stumbled upon an interesting item, "Huh? What's this? A katana?" He wonders as he took out a sheathed katana, "It feels light…" He unsheathes it, revealing a USB drive in place of the blade. "…" He quietly sheathed the USB drive and placed it back where he found it.

"No good… it's not here…" Akihiko sighed, "Find anything, Tsukiyo?"

"…Mr. Ono is a bigger samurai nut then I realized…" He muttered.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing." He replied, "Nothing at all…"

"Must be in the janitor's room, where Mitsuru and the others went." Akihiko sighed.

"Found it." Minako said with a silent cheer, showing the key in her hands.

"…Well, how about that…" The boxer stated, "Well… at least we found it. C'mon, let's find the others."

They made it back to the main hallway where the others are waiting there for them, "Did you find the key?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah, piece of cake!" Akihiko stated proudly.

"Minako is the one that found it, though." Tsukiyo pointed out.

"We'll divide into teams again." Mitsuru tells them, "Three of you will enter Tartarus, and two of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

"I'll-"

"I'll go." Tsukiyo interrupted Akihiko, "Minako, you should come too. You can take the lead, as always."

"Hey, Tsukiyo!" Akihiko cried out.

"It's best if one sensor go along." He tells him, "That way, our connection radius may overlapped with one another, in case where we ended up is too far to Mitsuru alone."

"Wow, you've thought things through, senpai." Minako pointed out.

"…" Tsukiyo sighed.

"He has a point there." Mitsuru stated, "You can have the portable version of my device."

"Thanks."

"I'll leave her evoker to you." Akihiko stated placing the device in his hand.

"Um, then, I'll be the third-"

"Wait a second!" Junpei interjected Yukari, "Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail? Gimme a chance to make up for that!"

"Oh, come on!" Yukari cried, "It's not always about YOU! Besides, you didn't 'accidentally' screw up."

"…What do you think, Minako?" Tsukiyo asked.

"We should give him a chance." Minako stated.

"Okay, if you say so." He stated, "You hear that, Iori?"

"Sweet! Thanks!" Junpei cheered.

"S-Seriously…?-!" Yukari cried.

"What's wrong, Yukari? You don't want to stay behind with Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked her.

"Um, n-no, it's fine." She said forcefully.

"It'll be fine. I'm staying behind too, after all." He stated.

"It's almost time." Mitsuru pointed out.

"Alright, let's go!" Tsukiyo stated firmly.

The three of them separated from the outside team as they make their way to the gym. Using the gym key, Minako unlocked the door and they enter the huge hall. There, they waited. Seconds ticked by and their anxiousness is almost getting to them.

"Man, this is nerve-wrecking…" Junpei stated, "How much longer?"

"Not long now." Minako stated.

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

And their world turns black.

…

Tsukiyo woke up a couple of minutes later, in a similar labyrinth like of Tartarus. "Where am I…?" He wonders before taking out the portable device he used, "Mitsuru, can you hear me?"

 _[This is Mitsuru. I've confirmed your position. You're higher than I expected… you're barely in communication range. Is everyone alright?]_

He took a look around, finding no one of their group around. "Not sure, we got separated."

 _[Tsuki…repeat…mess…not cl…]_

"Mitsuru? Mitsuru!"

 _[-…-]_

"Even with the overlapping communication, I'm still out of range…" He muttered to himself. He decided to take to his own and tried to navigate the corridors of this unknown floor. He bumped into an occasional Shadows which he dispatched them with ease. After a while, he starts to hear someone.

" _Who's there…? Are you human…?"_

"That voice…!" Tsukiyo cried, "Fuuka! Can you hear me, Fuuka?-!"

"…"

"Damn it!" He shouted out as he took into a run.

" _Where am I…? Why am I here…? Please answer me…"_

"Fuuka?-!" He shouted out, "Please answer!"

"…"

He rushed passed the several corridors, more Shadows appeared charging at him, "Get out of the way!" He summons Lancelot, the knight Persona slashes through them with ease.

" _Is someone there…? Please answer me…"_

"Fuuka!" Tsukiyo shouted out.

"…"

He rushed out of the corner, crashing into another person, "Ow!" He cried.

"Owowow…" Junpei muttered, "Oh, Tsukiyo-san!"

"Iori…" Tsukiyo sighed, "Glad you're safe."

"Man, I was nearly scared shitless…" He sighed, "The Shadows on this floor is unnervingly strong too… is that Fuuka girl even still alive here?"

"She is!" The senior cried, "I've heard her voice just now!"

"Voice?" Junpei then remembered, "Oh right! I've heard one on my way here too! Is that the Fuuka girl's?"

"Is it close?"

"N-Not too sure…" He muttered as Tsukiyo cursed under his breath, "…You know, Tsukiyo-san. You're getting rather… uh…"

"What?"

"It's just… out of character for you." Junpei stated, "You're never the type to get so worked up for one person. Wait…!" He chuckles looking at his senior with a teasing smirk, "I see~ I get what's going on now~"

"Huh?"

"You… like her~ Don't cha~" He chuckled.

"W-Wha-?-!" Tsukiyo cried out blushing, "D-Don't assume things like that! I do not like her! Not in that kind of sense!"

"Then, why are you so worried for her?" He teased, "It is love, man! L-O-V-E, love~"

"Urg…" Tsukiyo groaned tiredly.

"Hey, everyone!" Minako called out as she ran towards them from the corner.

"Oh, Minako!" Junpei called out, "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" She said with a smirk, "I'm the leader, after all!"

"Wow, you're pretty cocky, huh?" Junpei chuckles, "Well, as long as you are fine. Oh yeah, did you hear a voice while you're here? Tsukiyo-san stated that it is that Fuuka girl's voice. It kinda sounds like…"

"Who is this…? Are you human?"

"Th-That's it!" Junpei stated out.

"Wait… that sounds like it came from… behind us…" Tsukiyo turned around, the rest of them followed suit, the mentioned girl timidly peering out from the corner, "F-Fuuka!"

"T-Tsukiyo-senpai…!" She cried out.

"Wow, you're alive! That's awesome!" Junpei cheered.

"Don't worry, you're safe now." Minako tells her walking up to her grabbing her hands, "We're here to help."

"T-Thank you so much… I…"

"I'll try to contact Mitsuru." Tsukiyo tells them as he took out the communication device.

"E-Excuse me, but… Where are we…?" Fuuka asked, "I was at school, and then…"

"Well, it's a long story…" Junpei stated, "I'll explain after we get outta here."

"Mitsuru, come in! If you can hear me, please respond."

 _[-…-]_

"…No good… all I got is static…" Tsukiyo muttered, "Are we still out of range…?"

"Oh yeah, are you hurt?" Junpei asked, "Have you run into any monsters?"

"So, there ARE strange creatures in here, then…" Fuuka muttered, "I've managed to avoid them so far…"

"Whoa, really?-!" Minako cried in surprise, "How do you do that?"

"Um, it's hard to describe but…" She ponders for a while, "I can sort of tell where they are…"

"Whaddya mean? Are you psychic?" Junpei asked.

"It's the same as me and Mitsuru…" Tsukiyo stated, "Maybe even stronger in that field… Since both of our Personas are more battle orientated…"

"Per…sona…?"

Tsukiyo handed the evoker to Fuuka, "Hang on to this."

"*gasp* B-But, this is…!" She cried in surprise.

"That's not a real gun." He assures her, "Think of it as… I've got nothing. Just keep it at hand. I'll explain everything when we get out of here."

"Um… Okay…?"

"Alright… let's find the way out." He tells them. With Minako taking lead, they traverse the remaining labyrinth with Fuuka in tow. They were lucky that they didn't ran into Shadows, without Mitsuru's backup support and Tsukiyo's limited backup support would make things harder for them.

After a while, they made it to a corridor with windows showing the bright night sky with the full moon shining down on them.

"Whoa! Check out the moon!" Junpei cried out, "…I've never seen it so bright."

"Yeah, if the Dark Hour is less dangerous, I might find time to take a picture once." Tsukiyo stated, "Kind of a shame, such scenes are impossible to happen in real life."

"…Hey… wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail…?" Junpei pointed out.

"Now that you mentioned it… yeah, I think it was…" The senior muttered, "Kind of think of it…"

"It was a full moon when the dorm was attacked too…" Minako added.

"Whoa, really? What a weird coincidence…" Junpei stated.

"…It always struck me as odd but…" Tsukiyo muttered getting attention from his juniors, "Over the past year before I entered SEES… Those voices are the loudest during the full moon… During April, it was the same… So was last month… Hey, Minako, what was the date when the dorms was attacked?"

"It was… April 9th."

"And the monorail? What was the date then?" He asked.

"I think it was… the 9th as well…" Junpei stated, "Why are you asking?"

"A full moon…! All those incidents happened during the full moon!" Tsukiyo cried as he quickly brought out the comms, "Mitsuru! Are you there?-!"

 _[Tsukiyo-…-? …Shadows–]_

"Hey, can you hear me?-!" He cried, "Answer me!"

 _[Be caref-]_

"Mitsuru? Mitsuru!" He called out, "Damn it… connections are cut… Don't tell me…"

Fuuka shook a little, her face turned even paler than before, "…What is this thing…? It's bigger than the others… and it's attacking someone…"

"We got to move, now!" Tsukiyo called out.

"W-What's going on?-!" Junpei asked.

"It's one of THEM!" The senior tells them, "If my theory is sound, they come out every full moon! A very powerful Shadow! We need to hurry!" He and Minako took to a run, Junpei and Fuuka barely keeping up. They manages to get to a teleporter and warped to the entrance.

What Tsukiyo feared is shown to them, two giant Shadows towering over Mitsuru, Akihiko and Yukari, the three of them on the floor groaning in pain, "Mitsuru! Akihiko!" Tsukiyo cried out.

The two Shadows, one is red while the other is blue. The blue one appeared to be pot-bellied turkey humanoid wielding a small staff, wearing what seems to be blue dress and green cloak. The red one seems to resemble a kingly knight with a red cross in the middle of its black armor and skinny limps with a small sword in its hand.

"What in the world…?-!" Fuuka cried in shock.

"Tsukiyo-san! We gotta distract those Shadows somehow!" Junpei cried out.

"I agree." The senior ran up to one of them, "Hey, ugly! I got something for you!" He pulls out his evoker and summons out Lancelot, the knight persona flew towards them and clashed with the blue Shadow's staff. The Shadow pushes back the knight before blasting a gust of wind against it, sending it flying away.

"Be careful… Normal attacks won't work on these Shadows…" Mitsuru panted out.

"Hermes!" Junpei summons out his Persona, it flew straight towards the other Shadow, clashing his blade with it but was pushed away by its sword strike. "Orpheus!" Minako summons out hers as well, "Agi!" The Persona played its lyre and sets it on fire. The Shadow stumbles back a bit, "It's weak against fire!" Minako cried.

"Right then!" Hermes is summoned again as it charges towards them, "Agi!" Junpei commanded, his Persona unleashed its flame magic against the red Shadow. Tsukiyo summons out Lancelot once more, "Power Slash!" The Persona charges towards the blue Shadow, cleaving it in half, falling over onto the ground followed by its partner.

"Alright, we got them!" Junpei cheered.

"Can you stand, Akihiko?" Tsukiyo asked him.

"Yeah, but barely…" He muttered.

"I need you to protect Fuuka for me."

"Huh? Why do you say that?" He asked, "I'm fighting too!"

"You're beaten, Akihiko!" Tsukiyo cried, "And you said it yourself! You can barely stand!"

"Even so…!"

"Tsukiyo-senpai, look out!" Fuuka cried out, Tsukiyo turning over just as the red Shadow slams its blade at his torso. But instead of cutting him, it sends him flying across the floor, crashing into the wall hard.

"Tsukiyo-san!" Junpei cried as the two Shadows get back up, circles of colors swirls around in front of them, "Damn it, stay down, you sons of guns!" He summons out Hermes once more, "Agi!" He unleashed fire against the red Shadow yet again, but with no effect now. "What the… It worked before! What happened?-!"

"Junpei, get down!" Minako summons out Jack Frost, "Bufu!" The snowman Persona unleashed a blizzard at both of them, freezing them on the spot.

"Oh man, how did you figure that out?" He asked.

"Woman's intuition~!" She chuckled.

"…That joke didn't work the last time, you know…" He sighed, before noticing someone entering Tartarus via the front entrance, "Hey… isn't that…?"

"F-Fuuka…" Natsuki slowly walk forward towards them.

"W-Why are you here?-!" Mitsuru cried.

"Moriyama-san?-!" Fuuka cried out as she ran towards her friend, the ice around the two Shadows breaking as the ring of circles appeared in front of them again, "Please, get out of here!"

"I…I wanted to…" She muttered, "…tell you I'm…sorry…"

The ice broke, the two Shadows broke free as the red Shadows crept towards the two girls, "Look out!" Junpei cried.

"Fuuka-chan!" Minako cried.

The girl looked back at the Shadow, her hands clasped tightly around the evoker, "Wait! That's not a weapon!" Akihiko cried out.

"I know…" She held the Evoker pointing at her forehead, "Persona…" She pulls the trigger, the blue shards bursts out of her, surrounding the girl forming around her as the force of the summoning pushes the Shadow back a bit. It became a large sphere with her kneeling inside with a female upper body on top of it in a purple gown and arm-length gloves wearing a red blindfold and long streaming brunette hair.

"F-Fuuka-san…?-!" Yukari cried.

"A Persona…?" Junpei muttered.

The blue Shadow summons out a large gust of wind, blowing against the two girls, Natsuki wasn't lucky enough to be protected by a Persona, causing her to be sent backwards, clashing into the ground unconscious. "Moriyama-san!" Fuuka cried out, before noticing the red Shadow raising its sword in front of her, ready to strike down on her.

"Run, Yamagishi!" Mitsuru cried, "Your Persona is not made for combat!"

She closed her eyes in fear, bracing for the hit. But nothing happened. Curious, she peeked out, only to see Lancelot blocking the sword strike with its own sword, "Barely… made it…" Tsukiyo muttered as he got back up before proceeding to run towards the Shadow, "Take this, you asshole!" He swings his bokuto the Shadow's leg, only for his strike to bounce off.

The red Shadow then slashes at him, "Lancelot!" His Persona moved to block the attack, only to get knocked back and hit Tsukiyo, dissipating on impact and knocking him onto the ground hard.

"Tsukiyo-senpai!" Fuuka cried out.

"Grr…" Tsukiyo grunted as he got back up and summons Lancelot once more, "Agi!" The Persona unleashed flames onto the blue Shadow, but it is unaffected by the spell, "Damn it!" He brings his evoker to his chin again, "Lancelot, Garu!" He summons out his Persona again, the wind skill lightly blew passed it as well.

"Hermes!" Junpei summons his Persona once more, Hermes charges towards and crashes into the blue Shadow, it blocks with its staff and unleashed a huge gust of wind sending it twirling backwards and hitting him.

"J-Jack Frost!" Minako summons out the snow man, who tries to punch the blue Shadow, only for the red one to step in front and took the blow, which is completely ineffective.

"All our attacks…" Junpei panted, "They're not working…"

"I'm at my limit…" Minako panted.

"Damn it… If only I can tell which of their weaknesses are…" Tsukiyo muttered.

"…I can see it…" He turned to Fuuka, the girl holding her hands together concentrating on something, "I can… sense their weaknesses, somehow…" She stated.

"You can?" He asked in surprise.

"…Wind… The Emperor, the red one!"

"Garu!" He summons out his Persona to unleash a wind spell at the red Shadow, the 'Emperor' knocked back and dropped on the floor, "It worked…!"

"A similar ability to Mitsuru…?" Akihiko muttered.

"Fuuka-chan, please support us in this fight." Minako tells her.

"R-Right!" She cried out as she concentrated. The Emperor Shadow slowly get back up, the colored circles circled in front of it and its partner yet again, "…Fire… Fire will work now!"

"Got it!" Junpei stated as he summons out Hermes, "Agi!" The Persona blasts them with fire, both knocked down on the ground hard. The colored circles appeared again as they slowly get back up.

"S-Slash attack! On the blue one! The Empress!"

"Lancelot!" Tsukiyo summons his Persona out, "Power Slash!" It flew towards it and cleaves through the middle of the Empress' stomach, "And finish it! Zionga!" Lancelot placed its hand out and lightning thunders down onto the blue Shadow, it struggles in pain before completely dissipating into wisps of darkness.

"Last one!" Minako cried out as she readies her Evoker.

"Ice! It's now ice!"

"Jack Frost!" She summons the snowman Persona, "Bufu!" It waved its arm while summoning out a strong blizzard that blasts the Emperor back a little. The circles appears once more as it readies its sword.

"Fire! Use fire now!"

"Hermes!" Junpei summons out his Persona, "Agilao!" The messenger of the gods blasts the red Shadow with torrents of flames, knocking it down on its knees. "Go on, leader! Finish it!"

"You got it!" She ran up towards the red Shadow, leaping and stabbing her naginata spear into its head, "Orpheus! Agi!" She summons out her main Persona, the musician Persona grabbed onto the head and roared out, fire burns into its body, causing it to erupt into flames before disappearing into wisps of darkness.

"…Are there more of them…?" Fuuka asked as her Persona fades.

"No… It's over…" Tsukiyo panted in relief.

"Fuuka… you…" Natsuki stuttered.

"A-Are you alright…?" Fuuka asked the girl.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Thank goodness…" She muttered before falling onto the ground unconscious.

"Fuuka?-!" Natsuki cried.

"It's alright…" Mitsuru assures her as she along with Yukari and Akihiko got back up, "She's just exhausted."

"Fuuka… I…" She stuttered before breaking into sobs as she cried next to Fuuka's unconscious form.

"Where did those Shadows came from anyway…?" Tsukiyo wonders.

"From somewhere outside Tartarus." Akihiko stated, "Just like others before…"

"I see…"

"Um… what are we gonna do about Natsuki?" Yukari asked, "She saw the Dark Hour, and the Shadows…"

"Don't worry, she's not like us, so she won't remember any of it." Akihiko explained, "The good news is, she didn't fall victim to the Shadows, even though she obviously heard their call. She should be safe from now on."

"But, that means she'll forget that Fuuka saves her life, right?" She stated, "That doesn't seems fair…"

"…I don't think that will be a problem…" Tsukiyo stated, gesturing the apologizing Natsuki, "She learnt her lesson."

"I agree." Mitsuru smirked, "Come on, let's bring them to the hospital."

…

After a couple of days, Fuuka was soon discharged from the hospital in the peak of health. After school they all gathered at the command centre as Fuuka was brought in by Akihiko. Her face has returned some colour since that day, and she looked better.

"You're Fuuka Yamagishi, right?" Ikutsuki asked.

"Y-Yes!"

The chairman chuckles, "Relax, there's no need to be nervous." He assures her, "Why don't you have a seat?"

"Oh, thank you…" She took a seat on the couch.

"Everyone, you did an excellent job uncovering the truth." He congratulated the SEES team, "I also want to let you all know that all the three girls have all regained consciousness."

"What a relief…" Fuuka sighed.

"From what I understand, they each came to school around midnight and waited for the security guard to leave." He explained, "They were attacked by the Shadows near the gate, as the Dark Hour began… However, the facts became twisted because of rumours concerning a ghost story."

"I knew right from the beginning that it wasn't a ghost." Yukari stated proudly.

"Sure, you did…" Tsukiyo stated flatly.

"It's all…my fault…" Fuuka stuttered.

"No, it's not." Tsukiyo stated firmly, "You were a victim in this."

"But I… made so many people worry…"

"Like Tsukiyo-san~" Junpei teased, receiving a glare from him.

"We could have lost that fight if you weren't there." Mitsuru assures her, "You save our lives. You should feel good about yourself. You have a special power that you can use to help others."

"A special… power…?" Fuuka wonders.

"We call it [Persona]." She added, "You could be a tremendous help to us. Will you lend us your strength?"

"Are you asking me to join you…?" Fuuka asked.

"That's correct."

"Mitsuru-senpai…" She thought for a moment.

"I think you'd make a good addition to the team, too." Akihiko stated.

"Akihiko-senpai…"

"You know…we're not trying to pressure you, so if you need some time to think about it…" Yukari tells her.

"I'll do it." Fuuka stated firmly, "…I'll help you!"

"A-Are you sure?-!" She cried out in surprise, "If you join, you'll have to live here…"

"That's fine." The young girl stated, "I'd rather live here than at home anyways…"

"…?" Tsukiyo looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"We really appreciate this." Mitsuru congratulated, "We'll have the school talk to your parents, to resolve any issues."

"Thank you…"

"…Wait a minute. Aren't we dragging her into this a bit fast…?" Yukari asked worriedly.

"Um, it's okay, really…" She tells her, "I mean… It'll be nice to have two other girls in my grade around, too…"

"Let's be friends, Fuuka-chan." Minako smiled.

"Huh…? T-Thanks…"

"If there's ever anything you don't understand, feel free to ask us." Yukari added.

"I'm sure someone else is happy to help you out too." Junpei stated, "Isn't that right, Tsukiyo-san~?"

"…"

"C-Come on now, don't give me that look…!"

"Now then… those special Shadows showed up again." Ikutsuki stated, "We still don't know where they're coming from. But, Tsukiyo is right on one thing… Their appearances seems to coincide with the full moon. We'll take that into consideration from now on."

"So, they're some kind of werewolves then, huh?" Junpei pointed out.

"It's a big advantage for us to know when to expect them." Akihiko stated smirking, "Now, on the day of the fight, we'll be ready to get in the ring."

"…" Yukari remained quiet at that comment.

"…But why a full moon?" Tsukiyo wonders.

"Who knows?" Mitsuru stated, "There's still too much we don't know about the Shadows, after all."

"Even so…"

"It seems our meeting is adjourned." Ikutsuki stated with a smile, "Rest up for tonight." The juniors starts to leave the command room, leaving the seniors alone with Fuuka and the chairman, "Now then, would you mind escorting Ms. Yamagishi home?"

"It's no trouble." Mitsuru stated.

"I think I'll escort her alone." Tsukiyo stated.

"You sure?" Akihiko asked, "I mean, more people would be…"

"It'll be more suspicious." He stated, "I'll be fine."

"…Very well." The red haired student president nodded, "I'll leave Yamagishi in your capable hands." He nodded, before he and Fuuka left the command room. "He sure cares a lot for her." Akihiko stated.

"Indeed." Mitsuru nodded.

"…He doesn't trust us too much, huh?"

"It's understandable." She stated, "We kept this a secret all the time we know him. He must feel a little betrayed…"

"I'm sure it will pass for him." Ikutsuki tells her, "He is your friend, right? He can't stay mad at you for long."

"I don't know…"

…

Along the dark roads, lit by the lampposts along the streets, the two students walked down the road in silence. "Thank you for escorting me back home." Fuuka stated.

"It's no problem." He replied. After a while, he asked his question, "How are you holding up?"

"Quite fine." She stated, "My health isn't always the best, but I'm not feeling any discomfort."

"That good." He nodded.

"Tsukiyo-senpai." She stated, "I want to thank you."

"Again?"

"It's for back in that tower." She stated, "You saved me, and Natsuki-chan."

"Barely though." He added, "Besides, I'm the one that needs to thank you."

"T-Thank me?"

"If weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to defeat those Shadows." He stated, "Your Persona's ability is exactly what we lack at the moment, and it is thanks to that ability that we are alive now."

"Wow… I…"

"…Fuuka." He added, "You still have my phone number, right? If you ever need someone to talk to, or need help in anything, give me a call."

"Senpai, I…" She nodded with a shy smile, "I will…"

The two continued to walk down the streets, "So, do you need me to escort you to school tomorrow?" He asked.

"No, it's okay."

…

 **Done! Finally! I was procrastinating on this for a while  
now… Finally finished my national service and started  
looking for jobs for a while. Currently working on a  
two month contract, so sorry for not updating in a  
long while.**

 **Now, this is part I have trouble writing, especially  
the dialogue. I didn't want there to be romance  
so fast in the series, and I need to recheck some  
of Fuuka's personality as well.**

 **Also, I can't make Tsukiyo into a Gary-Stu and  
a harem MC.**

 **Now then, from this point on, it would be easier to  
write, with Fuuka officially joining and all that. Next  
up, the Lover Shadow Operation! Oh, won't that be  
a fun one!**

 **With that, I thank you for reading and please Review!  
Arigatou!**


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